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The creators speak Fergus McGovern ol Probe Software is extremely busy al the moment, working on the Amiga. Game Boy. Mega Drive Master System PC and Game Gear versions ol Mortal Kombat It realty is enough to make you go blimey, although all the time I was talking to him, he never did. Such is hts resilience 10 ihe pressures of work What everyone wants to know s how good a conversion the Amiga version is going to be It's going 10 be as pedeci a copy ol the com-op as the Amiga technology can handle,' Fergus told me. and although software companies say this sort ot thing all the fame, it seems it might be true this time "Wa ve had the most help we ve ever had n the creation ol our versions ot the game, and even talked to the original programmers Basically.

We were the first people to bung you news of the Amiga CD console, and now we re the first to give you the full official story and comparative benchtests. We're fab.

M RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT (AKA THE GALLUP CHARTS)

There are three new games in the top three this month. But which one’s the top dog We think you'll be surprised.

SOME GAMES THAT AREN'T QUITE FINISHED JUST YET

Including the world's FIRST and most EXCLUSIVE full previews ot Micro Machines, Star Trek and Theatre Ot Death. and another SIX pages of GREAT work-inprogress stuff on TOP of that. If it matters, you'll read it HERE first. Well, on page 16.

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN, ER, A KARAOKE MACHINE

Sing, sing your life, any fool can think of words that rhyme. (And then sing them.)

4m you really ought to

D READ THIS PAGE, Y'KNOW

Because it can save you money, AND get you free stuff as well1 Subscribe to AMIGA POWER - you know you want to really.

APPALiINGLY USELESS GAME PLAYERS' CORNER

Why do you do it Why do you spend all that money then get someone else to tell you how to play the game We don't get it. we really don't get it at all. Tch.

Mthe name of a book

ABOUT SEXUAL FANTASIES

Yep, that's The Secret Garden. And you thought it was all about Victorian families having picnics and stuff. Ha You sap.

97 SOCIAL INTERACTION AND RANDOM SURREALISM

Otherwise known as the letters pages. But that doesn't sound as glamorous.

1 AVI CALLING A COLUMN 'PD I U*t FILE' ISN'T BIG OR HARD

Think about it. Ifs not funny, really, is it

1 AT THE BOTTOM LINE,

I VI FEATURING ELTON JOHN

Well, no. let’s be honest, there's no Elton John anywhere in this entire feature. But it's still the original and best buyers' guide.

114

RIGHT PROFILE HOUR WITH UNCLE ROGER

Question and answer time, with the man they're all calling 'the grandtather of the leisure computing industry' Well, we are.

Well, okay, so technically the book was called ‘MY Secret Garden', but let's face It, you didn't know lhat. And most of you are too young to buy It anyway. So it doesn't matter, alright Er, buy, sell and swap stuff on pages 84 and 85.

MARK WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY: 1 m, • tii* tod* S. LISA WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY: tto. I «l toMU

CHERRY TREES IN AUSTRALIA!

ONE STEP BEYOND

Der der deeerrr, der-der-der-der-der-der-der OEEERR der...

Page 34

CASTLES 2

. .Sllrling Albion - (Oh no you don't. Now get on with it. - Ed) Page 42

Other mags might bring you levels of 59%-rated budget games on their coverdisks. but not us - it's top-notch stud all the way when you're with AMIGA POWER. Why,

Just take a look at the fantastic selection of wild and wonderful Ihings we've brutally crammed onto ours this month.

disk

F117A STEALTH FIGHTER

HYPER EXCITING SPECIAL OFFER! Not only are we bringing you a fab exclusive demo mission ol MicroProse's newest flight sim this month, but also a free gift! Yes, when f e full game of Fit7A is released at ji"* the beginning of September, just pop

along to any Virgin store and buy it (natch), while presenting your copy of this coverdlsk. You'll then get a FREE special limited edition F117A T-shirt in addition to the game! Top. eh

BLOB

Out-of-nowhere fantastic new arcade platform puzzle game from Core Design - a whole slew ol levels for you to enjoy - complete excitement!

SQUIGS

PD puzzling - Columns clone - one or two players - top features - total excitement!

• Oh no! Art you aura Before you go any further, try the procedure described In the panel over the page. If, alter all that, you do have diak problems, simply place H In an envelope, along with an SAE and an explanatory letter, and ratum it NOT TO THE AP OFFICE but to: AMIGA POWER Disk Ratumi 29. DltCopy Labe, PO Box 21. Davantry NN11 SBU. NOT here to AP. Not our department, guv.

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1093

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1993

disk

YOUR DISK AND YOU

■LAO THIS in FIRST OR NO-ONI Will TAXI ANT NOT1CI OF YOU WHIN YOU SAY THAT YOUR DISK DOISN'T WORK.

• You’ll hava lo raaal your machina in order to play ona of tha other demoa. Whan you do ao. almply follow tha Inatructiona above.

• Remember to keep tha dlak you are playing your gama from in tha drive at all times. And remember -switching tha machina oft lor 20 aaconda or ao before loading a new program will help prevent dlaka being Infected by stray viruses.

• Hava a good lima.

OH NO! SOMSTMINO WINT WRONO!

• Are you aura

• Try all that stuff again, making aura you va disconnected any peripherals tha program might not Tike’, such aa external drives.

• If your dlak falls to load, than pop It In a padded envelope, along with a talar explaining tha problem and an SAE, to:

bounce Venous types ollite do various things (For more useful debuts on these Various functors, please feel free to check out the review on pages 32 and 33 - Helpful Ed)

EXCEPTIONALLY POOR IOKE

has to bounce around a number ol levels at platforms in space, rescuing tittle blobs or collecting 'stuff, or painting the Hoot a different colour Any complaints about ffas lackadaisical character development should be ckrected to Core Design Limited. Tradewinds House, $ 9-7ta Ashbourne Road. Derby Or Blue Peter

HALF-HEARTED ATTEMPT AT SOME INSTRUCTIONS

Use the toystick to move Blob left nght. up and down, and press fire to make firm

This blob walks into a pub and says 'Blobaiobalobalob ' The Barman says 'Clear oft, you've had enough already *

WE'RE ALL FIRED

(You ra d« brad - Ed)

V I

lima an tic iani]i. Call, ina'i Ant

Author:

Jonathan Hibbms

OVERLONG INTRO

Well Ihere goes the last reason m the world tor anyone to ever buy a Mega Dnve. eh Squigs is a pertecl-in-very-nearty-every-way done ol the celebrated Sega puzzler Columns, a Tefns-reiated block-stacker which, embarrassingly, is stilt one ol the outdated console's lop boys software-wise Stil. that's not to knock the game itseH - it's a t»( tab. as you can now see tor yourself There are two base types ol game here, the Normal game and Ihe Rescue version, but both follow ihe same basic prrople Groups ol three squ>gs drop from the lop ol the screen and can be manoeuvred left and nght with the poystek II you press ihe fire button, though, the little *qu>gs will do a quick shuffle and rearrange themselves in a different order Repeated pressing of the Are button win make the squrgi cycle through their three possible positions, enabling you to arrange them into lormations which will make hon2antal. vertical or (hagonal ivies ol three or more squrgs. at which point the squrgs concerned will disappear and anylhing above them will Ian dawn to hit in the gaps (and, if you re lucky, lorm more lines lor big bonus points]

PARAGRAPH ABOUT BLOCK TYPES

There isn't much else to it. realty, but what there is comes vt the form of the olher blocks which occasionally fall instead of squigs - bombs and TNT blocks blow up a lew squigs near them r different ways, steel plates just gel in the way and can't be got nd of unless you use a crystal cube, which blows up everything on-screen that's the same as the first thing it touches

PARAGRAPH ABOUT GAME TYPES

In the Normal game you just keep on making lines (or points, but m the Rescue game (w+nch is the same as the 'Hash game' vt Columns), the obyect is to form a Ire rclurkng the squrg who shouts Help1 at the bottom of the screen When you do that, you move straight onto the next level, where everything gets a bit harder

Briefly Mortal Kombat is the arcade game that makes Street Fighter 2 look like it was thought up by the creator ot the Love Is..' cartoons, designed by Franoscan Monks and coded by Mahatma Ganctii. It apparently mpressed rapper Ice-T so much that he took time out from listing the taulls oI the Los Angeles Pohce Department and the benefits ol firearm ownership and bought a eon-op machine for his house History tails to recount whether his wife (and positive lemimsi role model). Darlene T. shares her hubby's passion, so let's jusl say lhai MK is a very, very, very violent beat-'em-up.

The creators speak Fergus McGovern ol Probe Software is extremely busy al the moment, working on the Amiga. Game Boy. Mega Drive Master System PC and Game Gear versions ol Mortal Kombat It realty is enough to make you go blimey, although all the time I was talking to him, he never did. Such is hts resilience 10 ihe pressures of work

What everyone wants to know s how good a conversion the Amiga version is going to be It's going 10 be as pedeci a copy ol the com-op as the Amiga technology can handle,' Fergus told me. and although software companies say this sort ot thing all the fame, it seems it might be true this time "Wa ve had the most help we ve ever had n the creation ol our versions ot the game, and even talked to the original programmers Basically.

Wi«iams gave us the source coda Irom the con-op, DAT tapes con taring all the sampled speech and sound etfeds and

also the original footage ol Ihe lighters Mortal Kombat uses digtised sequences of actual adors. and aher they'd been filmed the resulting tootage was stored as high resolution frames on a computer We've taken all ihe graphes Irom ih« source but obviously we had to reduce the resolution to Sul each system *

So the graphics are gong to look virtually identical to the original but what about the gamcpiay'’ 'Since we're using the arcade source code all the sconngs. hit zones of Ihe players and artificial intelligence of the computer-controlled characters is exadty Ihe same as the ongaal The only difference is that the Amiga can only support two buttons on the pyst ek. where as the original uses six. so we re looking al ways around this Just usxtg the oystck would be too restrictive, so ai the moment we re looking al a control system that uses both the Oyst*k and Ihe keyboard'

Mortal Kombat features so much Mood and nastiness that the AMIGA

POWER team have banned me trom playing more than one game al a time (after that I apparently

H worked in lodlo, but ■edit H kjml la ikcic coin-op icrccnihoti.

start to hyperventilate and get a bit giddy) and it also contains the brutal death biows, which were considered so contrary to Nintendo’s family image that they were left out of the SNES version Surely Amiga owners won t be deprived of such ctassic moves as the np your opponents head off. the punch your toe's beating heart out and then show rt to them' move and the classic freeze the baddie nto a solid block of ice and r an smash them into a zillion pieces' death blows'’

Verdict: Fergus promises that the Amiga version's going to be every bit as good as the Mega Drrve version, which is a real stunner There's stilt the problem ol the Amiga fire buttons, but hopefully Probe will go lor the keyboard option rather than trying to bunch up al Ihe moves using the context-sensitive system that plagued the Amiga version of Street Fighter 2 If seems that companies are already gearing up lot Chnstmas '93 Mock busters, and if it s done property, this could bo massive.

Briefly: Long before Councilor Troy lirsi sensed hostility' there was another Star Trek and another USS Enterprise The orpnal show broke all sort ol new ground n the themes and ideas presented on "v preaching a message of peace and harmony through stones that on the surface seemed to be little mote exciting so li romps The first nter racial snog on American TV occurred rrhen Captain James T Kirk locked tonsils with lovely Lieutenant Uhura (a character who spent most ol her time with a Party Popper stuck a her earl and the viewing public (bless 'em] loved it

Anyway, that was all 25 years ago. and to celebrate this lad. they re making a game about rt The creators speak: Rusty Suchert took lime out Irom hanging wrth h« homefeoys a California to till us a on what's happening in the land ol skateboards beach babes and random gangland dmre-by shootings I started by askag him about the sci-li roots ol the programming team, to see whether they le s*I baby-boomers raised on a diet ol lacoovaong sets and poorly Choreographed fight scenes, or d they're twentysomelhags (like me) who actually preter The Next Generation but just watch

the original senes because d's quaint

They're a mixture ol the two and go under the jorit title ot Metadigm We re lamous tor bmgmg out one ot the lirsi non Commodore debugging environments lor the Amiga, but I guess you already knew that The original has had a profound impact on my Me. and one ol the programmers is Irom the ongmal Star Trek era. but we al watch TNG as well Aiksier Bramble's doing the music, but I've no idea whal he thmks about the show.’

I said that I d aiagme that sace Star Trek's one ol Paramount's babies, they'll have been keeping a fairly tght regn over evenls. and even though I got the answers back by lax. I could still hear Rusty groan There's very dose cooperation between us and Paramount and. everything, slress everything, has to be approved by Ihem All the ad. music sound etlects. text and so on go through them before they get into the game'

The bits I've seen feature the deck ol the Enterprise and a 3D lighty b>l. which are what all these screen shots are Irom. but this isn't going to be the central pari ol the game.

apparently The mafonty ol the game revolves around the ground-side adventures and there are gomg to be seven completely afferent ones, although one lakes place across two planets * I got a bit exoled at this point because I remembered that whenever there was goag lo be a bd ol aggro on a planet the maa

characters always

beamed down with a couple ol anonymous security guards in distinctive red tops who then got kilted I asked Rusty wheiher they'd be a the game as wei ‘Indeed they will be - poor ensign expendables meet various means ol unpleasant exprations on all adventures ' Hoorah1

Which leaves gust one final question then Rusty, do you have any idea how

you say Td like a single room wrth an en-suite bathroom please7" in Klagon He thought about that one a bit Verdict so far: With so much interest shown a it by the producers ot the show, this one s gomg to be one ot the more

promising licensed titles, and with so many people interested, nay obsessed with the piogram. it s ever so likely that Trekkies everywhere will be flocking to part cash tor this Oh. and how about the Klagon translation

The best Rusty could come up with was "Jih parha wa pa je tach" which means "I want one room and a bar" He couldn't find a word tor balhroom and figured most KJmgons would rather ha the booze. And he'd know • MARK WINSTANLEY

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JET STRIKE

Ht*4t mp' A Atockr k«i« lit

I

really lun-to play 11«ghi game Plus, the \ main combat section inks together 100 I missions which give it an (almost)

J adventurelike (eel *

So (it I'm loiiowing this correctly so tar) - it's a liight sun lor people who don't I4re flight sims. Bui do you sMI have to like planes' 'Wei. Aaron (the auitior) is a plane tanahc who was brought up in an RAF family Bui you couldn't describe the rest ol us as plane mad' Jar Strike will appeal to anyone who has ever played a flight sim. anyone who en oys action games, anyone who enjoys a challenge and anyone who likes planes • that should iusl about cover everyone1’

/(acts (or slat-heads pan cf the preview I've heaid that Jet Strike mi; feature '(our ma.-n game variants’ including Training' (10 missions designed so you can lam-'ianse yourse I with the planes and their controls). Combat' (10Q missions where you'll need lo summon up all ol your skill, cunning and lonward-plannmg), and Aerotympics' (two players battle it out m IS selected missions). And let's not overlook the '40 aircraft’ each with their own (light characteristics closely based on their real world -

em up aftair with very little llight-sim realism but a massive V/STOl payload ol playability. And Jet Strike seems lo be a bang up-lo-dale verson tor the Amiga. with more colours, more planes. and more, oh I dunno. more everything really.

The creator speaks: David Jones Managing Director at Rasputin, had the following lo say tor himsell ’Je( Sinks was designed after many hours spent delving into flight sim manuals and then trying to gel the planes lo fly JSf Strike takes the fkght sim idea, moves away from concentrating on simulation, introduces loads ol action, and tries to be the first

you'd like lo throw in our general dreemn'’ BBS

'Jet Sinks has beer

designed lo be highly ■■■

adaptable - we could release JPjpwJ

up to 60 or more mission disks jmmmmm tar it The aircraft parameters Jfcf—

have been written in such a way that literally anything can be slatted in. from a pterodactyl to Concorde It it Hies, we can include 1 ’

Last question I've iusl looked up Grigor Ivanovich fia Ra' Rasputin (1B71-1916) in my Dictionary Of Modem History', in the hope that I d find out lo< mysell why you're called Rasputin Software 8ut m vain So. do you identity m some way with this notoriously bearded mad monk' who exercised a Sinister nearhypnotic influence over the Czar's family m the period leading up lo the Russian Brav. Revolution1’ Or are jutifrg

Ians'’ David ’Why are we called Rasputm'’ Well why not "

Verdict so fart Wa ve had an early version of Jet Strike in the otlice lor a lew weeks now and personally I've spent hours on it Maybe ihe controls are a bit tricky at first, and suie. the graphics are hardly Ihe 32-brt future at videogammg But l reckon that it Rasputin get ihe dilliculty nght and come up with enough interesting missions, this'll be a real treat for good old-fashioned playability Ians And you don't have to fake my word lor it - next month weT be bringing you an exekisive coverdisk demo so you can try it out tor yourselt (Probably. - Ed)

MR BLONDE Yeah, right on, Orange The F117A. as I understand it. has limited weaponry as it relies on its radar absorption properties (which result n it having the same radar footprint as a 22 air pellet, tech tact tans) to keep it out ot trouble Now what garnets want is big guns, so have you gone lor the realistic approach, or beeled the weapons up a bit to make it more interesting'3 JAMES: We ve certainly added more target-busting luepower and. at the end ot the day. leel that gameptay s more important than making it irue-to-iila but ail the realistic options are also available lor me hardcore llighi-sim butts1 Conclusions are reached:

MR BLONDE Bnlkant Okay guys, report back to the office that it looks like MicroPiose are set to do it agam with another top-notch Hying game MR PINK Okay Mark. et. Mr Blonde, and III say lhal the stealth technology is sel to

I

be an integral pan ot the game, with success or failure depending on keeping damage to a minimum and therefore radar cvisibility at a minimum

MR PINK runs off and slams Ihe warehouse door shul behind him MR BLONDE turns to James. sm*ng MR BLONDE Now there's just you and me. and quite frankly I don't care what you tell me. I'm going to torture you anyway. MR BLONDE waves Ihe 1&201. a Roll Hams Stylophone and an electric toothbrush m rapid succession in Iron! ot the slanted MicroProse production gemus Cue cheery 70s muse Fade to black (Fade back m UR ED -not the '60s sitcom talking horse but a skghtty-buiit Scotttsh tocking figure m another identical black suit and shades -stands with a smoking gun at the midst ot the Meeting bodes of MESSRS BLONDE ORANGE and PINK MR ED You see7 You ARE al teed)

• MARK WINSTANLEY

The scene Is sel: Fade up Itom Mack We see (our figures n an otherwise empty warehouse Two ot the AP staff (dressed in plait black suds and Mack ties) gada tape top MicroProse producer James Hawkins to a chair beloie dousing !=s n petrol and intimidating him with a Hiaghl razor Another smilarly-atlired computer journo lies unconscious in the comer, lataly wounded Their attempts to attend a press conference on UcroProse's latest High! Sim (leatunng the world's most advanced stealth tighter) have gone senousfy wrong, and now they want answers MR PINK Let's go to work The creators are tortured:

MR BLONDE Okay, we've seen the eiceieni Gunshv 2000 and also an mpressrve demo of this game (on this month's coverdisk), and we can't help striking that there are certain smuianties What v* you got to say to that, huh JAMES II come daan. just don't hit me agam1 Wave used some cl me 3D techniques from Gunshf>2000 and alhough Neil and Paul have done 95% of the

projfBfnnwiQ

we ve also had input from Mark langerak and Mark James from the Giftshg 2000 team Mark s been working or the HUD (lhal's Head Up Display, technical term fans) whereas Mark. ar.

Start e. the second one. has been working on Sie mission generation Can you untie me now7 Please

MR PINK What about mission settings Can wa ask him about wheie you get la Mow things up. huh Mark"3 Huh

MR PINK Right then, ignore that last Ml. James, and tell us about the missions Or else JAMES Sob The missions cover Central Europe, the North Cape.

Libya, the Persian Gut!, the M<k*e East. Desert Storm Korea.

Vietnam and Cuba There are

hundreds of posstte mission

combinations ol pnmary and secondary targets making it the largest ever Amiga Hqht Sim1 Based on your perfoimance you receive medals and piomolions as you play through each scenario1 Look, ail you needed to do was phone our PR department to get these details, do you realty think all this nastiness is necessary MR PINK Shul up' Shut up1 Look - Over there! Dave. er. I mean Mr Orange', is regaining consciousness DAVE ER. I MEAN. MR ORANGE' Ask tvm about the teaksm versus playability debate Uhhh

together all trie games I like playing and taking the most worthy bit , of them, so I used the perspective irom Populous, the lieedom ot movement Irom file and the click-io-eooltol system from Lemmings To move an entire squad you dick on the squad leader, where as deking on a normal toot soWier w j move just him .’

In the version I've played you only get to choose between mach* v quns. grenades and flame thrower; but Dave assures me ths lack of fuepc.ver's iust a temporary thing I'm putting m land-mries and dynamite, and thinking about some mantraps as we*

different terrains, and then every ten missions or so you can go onto another map, so each game you play v.ni be ditlerem ' Verdict so far: Well. I've played vc -ms ol both Theatre Ol Death and Cannon Fodder, and there's only one conclusion to be reached - they re pretty much the same game Although both sides claim that they've been developed independently, it s funny that two (three - < ■

you include Genera/ Chaos I on the Mega Drive Irom 1

Electronic Arts) control a j

squad ot little soldiers around I a warrone games should be out at the same time What's caused this sudden rash ol games, and is it anything to do with all those terrible body-swap movies that all came out at the same time a lew years ago Which one will be the best one1 Only time wd:

■» < . " 'V The idea is that these i just / 1 immobilise the J soldiei. and if you can I get an ambulance to QS I them in lime, they can “• 1)6 'erased and

patched up *

There are jetpacks. tanks, helicopters and space bugles to transport your boys around quckiy. with the tanks doing a nee line rn running over the crerny. or your own troops f you're that careless In ! me; Of Cl.>3 you can FoT

i -Ker can m reserves who H PHI are helicoptered m to a preset location, or call m a ' '

slnkes to bomb the hc'I out c( ‘1

an area. Nice touch, that

At the moment an Ihe missions -€ self contained, but Dave told me that's set to change "The game s set across snow, desert grassy and lunar locations, and rfi the Srvshed version a few it be blended logether to form bigger maps You can choose your path across the

gai _

Of Fodder, sorry. " ~

Death, features a Urge r ap viewed Irom an isomct" overhead v«w Scattered around this twttl-' eld are groups of your sc-d:or.. enemy sckiiars and various bits ot mditary equipment that you can take control of by sicking one ot your blokes m Everything s controlt-;-d by the mouse, with to-1 toll button marking a destination lor a Wid er or umt. and the right button fcrng whatever /.capon s w'-octed at the time, and you wander around and M pwop'e Exactly !«o Cannon Fodder, really.

I spoke to Dave Anthony, creative comer stone ol Cannon Ol Death - sorry, that should be Theatre (Cannon Of Theatre - Ed), and verbally taunted him with that thorny jimiiarify-rstsWt-j :;t.ue “It'S strange that they're both out soon, because I darted «last October and only heard about Cannon Fodder round about May tfvs year I got the idea by lumpng

characters act independently and H walk ai eight directions without 'moonwalking' or bumping into each other We also have a sounduackatg system cased FilmScore which changes the muse to follow the events r the game, but retains the quality ol a tued theme tune' Correct Why are you called Divide By Zero7

The creator answers: 'You might think it’s a witty piogrammmg in-joke, since it inters to e program bug, but alter the sad demise ol Bus Error Software and Pnviege Violation Inc' we drinl want to tempt tale, so the name actually comes horn a titlte known song by Ihe Pet Shop Boys But hey. it could have been worse we could have called ourselves West End Girts

Jkx Correct What do you

think are the most important C A.p- dB aspects dt an adventure game and how does Innocent Until Caught implement them7 iy The creator answers: its got to have an easy-to-grasp ' interlace Players should only

be concerned with solving the problems and enjoying themselves, not worrying how to do things In other games o( the* genre, players often wonder why they can't do somethrig that seems perfectly obvious We ensure that everything that Ihe player can reasonably expect to dc ,tA gel an mtutive response.

and everything depicted m the graphics can be interacted with m a tog cal way Last but by no means least, there should be a good storyline With JuC, developed characters that draw the player cto the game ’

No. the coned answer ts Leonardo da Vino It you divide something by zero, do you get mliraty7

The creator answers: it E

depends M you're f

doing your Maths ' U

GCSE and you flj

div tie by zero.

you'll get an F II

you're a computer

and you divide by

zero, you get a crash it you're going to puichase software and you buy Oiv.de By 2ero. you get a bntvtnr game"

Correct Is there a heavy element ol humour m the game7 The creator answers: *Yes. it s basically a comedy but based around the serous prem.se d« ‘n«'ijratc thief under

Briefly: innocent UnU Caught is a

humorous adventure game

The creators play Mastermind:

What is your name and occupation

The creator answers: Andy Btazdeli, Creative Director. Divide By Zero' And what ts your special is I subject7 The creator answers: ‘Ournew game. Innocent Unhi Caught'

Correct You have two minutes on Innocent Unit Caught starting from . now You say that the game has something m common with Monkey Island 2 What are the sum:—-l-es. and how does it improve on the .

i-uetsAris class*7 Aaiirj

The creator answers:'it s s<miiar m lormat alore We've taken the concept ol participating m a movie to the limits Our in house programming system (called Interspectrve outperforms SCUMM. Virtual Theatre and SloryDioid tech meaty, and outclasses them n terms ol the quality ol Ihe games we can create with it For example we have a unique hypertext-style daiogue interface when talking to other characters, and an intelligent map feature which enables swift travel around

Aliii Eifi't jatlia] ob willi the >t ie 1h« aail cibli.

nothing Divided

BO V ' El . by Zero"

.X 'PfA The creator answers:

• ] d-d have a

slogan, actually

'Dreamt by you. Designed by us. Divide By Zero', but it sort of got changed (after certain events at the Chicago CES) to "Driven by lust. Dr.ok by lunchtime Di-.-j* By Zero'

Verdict so far: You go: -1 juestions nghi. apart bom the one about Leonardo da Vine As lor the game, it sounds great.

Briefly: It's a seriously last raeng ysa objective b»'ng to win an IBl underground race across Europe me Amenca tor the pure of an enormous HdcsV '.'.'if that's what the press ■flnse eeye anyway although it you took • ueraiiy you d be led to believe that t5u v» got to race through a senes ot ■cMnanean checkpoints And ol course ■tad be wrong, lor the word 'Urarground is relerring to the legality ol d hK« h jh-speed antes and noi. as ,■» may suspect, the relative position ol M racetrack to the surface oI the t*t Sut anyw3y The creators

speak: i chatted to Trevor Scotl Irom Nanaquin ,r me latent press j .'< • or 8imrq Rubber how I could tel you Mi f was a ‘a-'astc B :\ , right out n London j

waving playing the

game consuming masses ol B Me bugers and racing 500 bps round an mdoor racetrack m high-powered go-karts, but it's go not hog to do wdh fie game and would only serve to make you all feel feaioua that I not only g« to f£ay games tor a hying, but also get mdu'ged by software companies at uiing events, so I won t mention it.

Harfequin are based up m Tyneside a mere gobspit Iron the world lamous Meat shopping centre ‘lisa great place to We.' Trevor told me. ‘and the great thng a mat once we get good staff m Hrd io keep them as there

any other software . B

companies m the area ' So how dd a company m the nonreasl Bstlogemei with Ocean to do a (King gafPfll We suCm ned; d»gnw«h screenshots about . B

game ts that I

you get to

choose the m

course you B

wart to lake to Ihe finish

and it's acluaily possible lo gel lost if you tako the wrong course at the junctions ‘ I've got to admit that I agree with him on this count, as plotting what you think is the fastest route and then screeching round comers is tolly good tun There's also ihe question ol which car to use. as you've got 12 to choose Irom six hot hatches tor the laces through London Scotland, Pans etc and loadstars such as Corvettes. Ponltacs and Mustangs to bunt through Mount Rushmore. Florida and Las Vegas So eta the programming team regularly gun their turbo-charged engines and lay rubber down the Aroads of Tyneside m illegal races then'’ Not really ‘ admitted Trevor sheepshty, ‘but I did used to own a Porsche *

L Vroom and Lotus f to name but a lew) I so Sumng Rubber <s gomg to have it* I work cut out lo make an impress**!

■ So is this gang la be a lun game to

■ play’ Almost cerfa nly Is il gong to

■ set the gaming woild si ght'1 That IB remains lo ba seen

e MARK W1NSTANLEY

year ago. and Ocean were impressed enough to take us up on the idea Although they have a certain mput into the game the relationship s really one of producer and publisher'

Whai made Ocean srf up and take an interest «t the game9 I mean from me screenshots it looks a lot like Crazy

Cars 3. or any number ol racing games Mn our mitral bnet wa set out the ideas that would make this a different game from existing ones We look upon it as an extremely playable smuAaiion. with money won m races twg channelled inks not only repairing the car. but also adding rutro boosters, body kits, tyres and engme parts thi! wi* improve the car's handling and perlormanca The lactor that makes a difference *i this -a

Briefly: So here it is than, the first Amiga C032 game that we've seen Gosh Once the guys from Millennium had managed to pnse us away Irom stroking and caressing the console (yes. that's right, the Amiga's a console now. you'll have to get used to it), we got down to the business of checking out Millennium's firsl outing on the medium The game's very hard to be bnef about It's an adventure/strategy affair based on a mmmg theme and it is. quite frankly, huge Yes thal part ol the CD system (ooh, if s so eiohng isn't rl ) thal enables you to store toads of

megabytes ol stuff is being exploded to the lull with Diggers Perhaps I should let Toby Simpson the mar responsive Icy all '

the. do the talking, yes HH lM The creators

speak: So exactly now VMM bg is it then 'Well, to give you some perspective, the H-,-;

graphics alone take up ten :

megabytes of space (Thar's about 12 floppy disks, you know. - Tim), before you even start lo look at the sound, game engne and so on We've got an interactive book on there too. which gives you access to informal**! at any time durmg the game and basically gives you a manual on a Ask We re going to have lo make some sacntices on the 1200 version, simply because the number of chsks needed would be immense. The

game itself is huge There are 33 drflerenl maps, every one of them massive, coveraig seven different terrain types We estimate that you could finish the game and sM have onfy seen about 20% of if' But we re getting ahead ol ourselves What is this game all abouP 11 s set on the planet Zatg. on the glorious 412th day of the year This <s traditionally the time when the planet's

HMpMMv authorities allow the population lo dig lor a month foi treasure and diamonds, and this year it's your turn Basely it's about trying to make yourself neh

"You control a race of diggers There are lour lo choose from -the F'Targs. the Habbish. the Grabfuns and the Quarnsors if aBr Each has different qualities, like the F'Targs heal very quickly and the Hfeu

Grabtms dig faster Each Hi level involves you and an l f§§p

Opponent tackling a mining area You're given a target income to hit. and you car frvsh a level either by defeating the opponent or by gelling the income ‘

Toby look us through a very involving demonstration wrth evident glee at ihe huge woitd he's created, and became so animated was he that if was impossible to jot down what he was saying. In essence, you use on-screen menus to control your characters, which includes making them watk. jump. slop, pick Ihngs up and down, search, go home, tele port and. ol course, dig II you don't give a character an instruction it soon gets bored and Stans wandenng oft doing its own thing, so you've got to keep an eye on your team When you've mined

some valuables you can teleport back lo the shop to buy various tods lo help you with your progress, such as lifts and automate Oggers

The great thing is thal there's more than one way to play the game You can play it as a vtolenl struggle against the computer opponent, or as a strategic stnp-mmng affair it leaves mote open to the player, and there are a lot of random elements loo. because the levels are never the same twice Each time you start a level again the treasure is scattered somewhere else'

Verdict so tar: This looks tike it's gong to be a slormei I can t really make any useful compansons. because it's gat a feet all ol its own. but it looks like ii'il appeal lo anyone who's enioyed (he Populou&lemmngs school ol games We'ie looking forward lo gelling our mitts on this and the Amiga CD console in the very near future.

\ • TIM TUCKER

Mjyin li a nlaint flu, auk oa

■till paj« tktrt art

pxtavet of It ---■

KvrcH lor doth

MICRO MACHINES

J Game: Micro Machines J Publisher:

Code Masters Authors: In house ETA: September

be a bii slupsd ol me to 90 over 11 ail aga*t, wouldn't it Sorry, scratch that

The version ol Micro Machines that we ve been looking at lor ttw preview has 18 ol the original 32 Hacks complete, an su ol the nine scenarios, although them $ no sound and none ol the 11 computer

Briefly: Bloody software houses. I bloody hale 'em. You know when this preview copy of Micro Machines arrived m our office'’ 111 tell you - one bloody day before bloody dead ne. that's when You know how much warning we had that it was likely fo turn up ihs month al all'’ 111 fell you - bloody none, that's how bloody much. Do you know how much of a pain in the bum if is to completely re-arrange a flatplan (the big map-type thing that shows what we re going to have in every issue and what page it's

gong to be on) 1o , • - • '

make space (or .■

something that comes .'’*<• f

m at the last minute <''V. *

.*» B

but is too interesting pH(.. ■

or important to leave ‘ *

until the neit issue'3

III ten you - a bloody i

lot that's how bloody r.r 1- 1- - - - * much And do you

At .7KXRJ J • •

know how annoying A ■s not to be able to take these feelings oul on Micro Machines by means of a vitnolc assault on it designed to scupper its chances ol selling a single copy before if gets lo see a shop shell, cos of the fact that it's so damn good I'll tell you - it's bloody annoying, (hat's how annoying it is 8ut anyway Micro Machines, as I'm sure you all know already, is a racing adualy. if you all know already, it would

GAMES

“Rainbows on roses and whiskers on k kittens” goes the song, but it’s not only Nazi Austrian nuns who have favourite r things. Anyway, you’ve had to wait a

11

whole month to find out what we’ve been up to recently, so let’s get on with it!

JUST WHO DO Wl THINK Wl:«

LINDA BARKER

Plucky Cockney lass Linda's been doing some more recovering Vos month. helped along by quite literally hundreds ol letters from AMIGA POWER Production Editor Dave Green "The sooner you come back and we can lob that clueless Scoitish midget out of a high window, the happier I'll be" "Who's ihaf queried the recollectionaly-Challenged supremo, with a chirpy gnn

STUART CAMPBELL

‘I think he means me.' growled the belligerent Pictish Dap Ed. nppang his perloclly rebuilt leelh through a wiggly worm chew _j his attendance at an eiciusive preview ot Jurassic Park, he's apparently taken on lha persona of the fearsome T-Rex, which involves him crashing through out office eiatbtp fence every night and getting AP team members to Shine torches at turn

In one of his infrequent lucid moments, and oomenmntty fanow.ng in the same vein. Mark took time out Irom po'Uirg his Rnesrmo to visit his local Ilea pit' Inspired by Palling Down, but missing ifla point entirely. Mark now storms out ol work every day and quit literally lab down 'Michael Douglas never goiN* knee* ihw scabby, and I've not shot anyone yet," he mows Oh de*. I

DAVE GREEN

Movies, movies, movies. * seems like we've all been watching them this month, and we were al surprised to find that our exira-tarresinai Prod Ed Dave s a fan of weepies ‘I do love a good cry al those sad endings.' he admitted "The Thing.

Alien and War Of The Worids. I love 'em.* he sobbed, 'bul why do the good guys always cop it at the end ' Somehow I think he's got a novel viewpoint on our Earthling culture

TIM NORRIS

AP's most prominent ex-pubtx: schoolboy Tim favours films that show the British Empire at Ihe height ol its powers "Anything invoking long runs across moors and headmasters thrashing small boys is good lor me.' he said ‘I especially en oy scenes ol good honesl soldier lads spilling their life-blood lo lutiiely defend desolate comers ol the Empire ' Fortunately no-one was listening

DAVE GOLDER

Dave fends lo lorego Ihe silver screen in livour ol his home video Collection, a microwave meal for one and a Mre of Tab Clear Tve Qoi all 68 tapes ol Star Trek - The Nexl Generation,' he confessed ‘First I watch them in sequential order, which takes about a month,

I walcti len all again, but in reverse order Finally. I like to mix i all up and play Cierr beck any old way' My oh my Dave, how long evenings must just fly by live long and prosper

‘X

Boae i

SAL MEDDINGS

The only good thing about ihe unfortunate incarceration of Jecquii is lha I Sally Meddings refums to AP after a break of almost a year Sal S not seen any movies recently, bul what wito her new ob and her inordinately cute daughter lo look after and the uuil indoctrination ordeal that has made her the mightiest Art Ed ■ver o tay out a magazine, we lurid ol lei her oft This time

JACQUIE SPANTON

In an out of orema experience, we've sadly had lo say 'Goodbye forever* to Jacquie this monlh After a particularly rough mghl. she was forcibly entered into the Betty Ford Clirxc at Her Majesty's Pleasure by order ol a magistrate, where she's expected lo remain until the drying out process' is complete The dme recently issued a statement to the effect that they expect this process lo take approximately 'one hundred and seven years '

<

JONATHAN DAVIES

itonathan considers ever videos to be loo fancy', m a simiar way to haw Ihe Amish people ol Pennsylvania trown upon zip fasteners Tve got a ViewMasler and a single story rise.' crooned the sultry strategy games guru ‘and I waleh it daily n a darkened room The 30 really is great, and I find that one story's enough excitement tor me' It s such a shame isn't it’

TIM TUCKER

Tim. of course, couldn't ust stand «*y by and allow this to happen to his fiancee without taking some kind ot supportive action. One crash course n vodka dnnkmg later, a sightly more-conlused-than-usuat Tim could be seen slaggenng towards a local church lo seek sanctuary tor himseil and his love Sadly, in his inebriated state, he walked r tront ol a bus and was killed instantly Bye. Tim

RICH LONGHURST

Rich thinks he's written a blockbuster and really can't see why no major studio has bought the idea oil him 'If s a similar idea lo In Bed With Madonna.' babbled our long-suMerng eontnbulor. "but it's called In Bedsit With Monissey. and will star the greatest Innrig musician of our time I coiid direct a. and I've got this uncle, nght. and he's got a chain ol video itoranes *

ice lo see the hardware being used lor once, anyway A (let a spate ol games not recognising the presence ol a second drrve. here's a game that recognises up to three extra ones (the game comes on lour Asks), and extra memory as wen. so that d you've got some tuAcrousiy expanded six meg A1200 or something, you can load the whole game into memory m one go and never have to access any ol the desks ever agari li's ridiculous that t should even be having lo poml lh«s out »t 1993. but since it's still the exception rather than the rule, M's got 10 be done. Brownie points aplenty lo Knsahs. then

But on with the show. Space aliens have stolen the World Cup (oh god) Hilariously, though, they crashed into an asteroid while making their escape, and the World Cup tell back lo Earth, albert broken aito five pieces Strange gravitational quirks (or something like that, probably), however, caused each piece to land *t a Afferent country, (is it jusl me or do game plots reaty depress youl Yeah, thought so, it's jusl me Ah wel) Keen lootie devotee Soccer Kid takes on the mantle A the Pickles A h.< generation (unnecessarily ekt«t gag lor veteran tooibaH supporters theie. but I'm not sorry - 96 A our readers are male, and rl you're a boy and you don't like fooiball there's something wrong with you. so nyah boo sucks). _ and decides to rescue . ,N.•' I the trophy himsell ' 1

tournament becomes even more o' a disaster than it's going to be anyway Naturally. I fie inhabitants at the live countries he's gong to have to travel through (namely England. Italy. Japan. Russia and America) aren't too chuffed about the violation ol their borders, and etc etc.

But Soccer Kid doesn't just beat up the inter continental bad guys with a baseball bat. or zap 'em with a laser gun. or even jump on their heads Oh no Soccer Kid is armed in a dflerent. and perhaps more plausible way - he s got a loolbaii Not only that, but he's got a whole armoury of special lootballing-type moves to use in conjunction with said weapon. Including headers overhead kicks and. er. other ones as well

Now while taking out the baddies with your lootbaii in vanous interesting

** **<«l few w. ...

*« "W, ux ’ »*,

rtadToT row ,

°* *•’ **-d ik« „ *■*» »

~***«>.

ways is very novel and cute, it's also a bit on the fiddly side much of Ihe lime - you have 10 stop, line up your shot, gel into tnck shot mode and then actually do if This all looks great and stylish and everything, but if can really slow ihe pace ol the game nght down on occasion -sometimes when you're Zipping along, you'd give anything just to be able to jump on a badge's head and sod him out there-and-then without a load ol hanging around In tact, this is probably my biggest gnpa with the entire game - what's the point in doing a last-moving game with super-speedy super-sick scrolling, when you hartfy ever gel to go at full hip It annoyed me *1 Sonc The Hedgehog (damn1 Sneaked up on me. sorry), and it annoys me here

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Actually, now that I come to mention Ihe blue spiky one. I'm suddenly struck by an uneipecled lamilianty (Yeah. I know, this is a Stupid idea, we re all stir of Amiga games being compared to Sonc. especially ones like Zoo) when aren't anything like it at all at any real sense, but i ve started so III finish.) While Soccer Kid doesn't really leel like any other Amiga game, it occurs to me it's more similar to STHfhan you m fil imagine They've got very similar paong. some ol the same power-ups (especially the speedy boots, although at least here they make you invulnerable tor a while so you get a bit ol a chance to use them properly, instead ol lust running helter-skelter straight eta the first baddie in your path), and some deta-vu-tastc bits ol scenery (Me the tumping fish under the bridges on the Chinese wodd) The two games are structured distinctly similarly as wen. with a small number of woitds (five *i this case, compared to Soncs si*), each divided up

Swfttty followed ap wiifc lOBt ofrftv b4l«o<laj. Top Huff, IfilR.

fwr

I 9 • *

A IheroMjfcly ityfiili beckkeeUoj effort ikere

Oh look, Ifi fke Goo4ye*f blimp. I , or tomctfciej 4 bit tweller.

I kope Ikii kJKhet ioor. in iei cewfy.

O

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1993

time you gel to (he second or third worlds it starts to get really fearsome, and by the end it's just horntying KnsatiS' main playtester reckons that even when you've got really good at this, it’ll take about ftve-and-a-halt hours to play through from start to Irish (ulpl). which means it's ust as well there's a password system (a Last-minute addition Irom the Knsaks boys, on the strongest recommendation AMIGA POWER coiid possibly muster) or no-one r the world except maybe Uoyd Giossman from TVs Through The Keyhole would have an snowball s chance r hell ol seeing the end sequence And trankty, even he'd be struggling Even with passwords you won't polish this one oil in a hurry, and r value-consoous days Me these (especially with the game selling lor a distincily naughty £30] that s a good thing r my book (Stuart s Big Book Ot Realty Good Things, ust £49 99 Irom any unscrupulous bookshop)

Right, so it's got lets at me good Ms horn I Sonic ana Ktsno and Mj Arabian Nights. it's Iasi (H original, and big and hard and dever We re (maty getting somewhere now But the REALLY bnikant f'f

things about Soccer *

Kx)are (Snf>< -Ed) i * k

• STUART L . • . , v

CAMPBELL <»•»*" If

into three sub-levels with a boss at the end, and bonus sections which you reach by collecting obtects r the sub-levels (r Some if was Chaos Emeralds, here it's bits ot the World Cup) But I'm gening ott track a bit. and i haven t even started to tell you what a lab game this is yet Er. could we pretend the review starts here, yeah’’

Fans ot Arabian Nights will (eel on familiar ground Irom the oh here, as Soccer Kid a wntten with the same basic game engine If tor some perverse reason you didn't like Arabian Nights, don't let that put you oh - Soccer Kid isn't qute so inertia-ndden control-wise, and theie isn't much n the way ol puzzle-solving to distract you Irom the pLatlormng action Mod you. to be honest, there isn't much platforming action either, technically speaking This s a platform game *i much the same way that (here we go again) Super Mane World Is a platform game. « theie are platforms m a. but most o( the gamepiay consists ot going at pretty much a Straight horizontal line from left to right, dodging obstacles and smacking up any baddies encountered on the way (This is as opposed to a platform game r the Harlequin or Zoo! sense, where finding youi way around a maze ol platforms is the central theme »i itself.) And that's not intended as a cnticssm. by the way

So. let’s tecap it's the same as that great platform puzzler Arabian Nights, but without the puzzles. Or the platforms And it's realty ongaial. but it's a cross between Some and Super Mano World Oh dear.

I'm not getting this across at all wei, am I Lei's talk about something else

One way si which Soccer Kid isn't like Some or Mano at alt s at its difficulty setting - it's a bitch and a halt, and then another bit. and then another entire bitch on top ol that (ugh. what an unpleasant mental picture I've just formed Bits ol dog all over the shop. Yeuch).

® UPPERS Hang on, you can t (Snip! - Ed)' me, right now I AM tha Ed! (I'm the voice ol your professional conscience. We were out ol space, and you were just wibbllng. - Ed) Look, stop that! (See. you've overrun Into the Uppers ' box now. - Ed) Alright, alright, but it I do the ‘Uppers' now, can I get a tittle PS at the end at the review to put all the good stuff In (Okay, but gel on with It. - Ed) Beautiful graphics, a great central character, a tew neat Ideas and a leel unlike any other platform game I can think of. (Except..well, we've covered that already. - Ed)

® DOWNERS Gorgeous though they are, the graphics are a little aamey sometimes (although, let's lace It. moat cltlea do look pretty much Identical these days), and the music's horribly cheesy throughout. And I'll take two percent ott for having lo kill rata. too.

THE BOTTOM LINE

A deeply gorgeous platformer, even better than Arabian Nights, but not quite as good at Yol Joe! Right, can I do my last bit now (No. f* n --Ed) What But you U U

said... (I lied. - Ed) UU

THE BOTTOM LINE

(There's a dedicated ft! -'fjO enhanced version on the way. but this version runs fine on the big machine, using tha two meg RAM lor reduced loading. - Ed)

A couple of weeks ago 1 went 1 lor a trip lo the seaside (Weston-Super Ware to be precise) Things had been a bit stressful at the office on the last issue and I needed a break, you know how it is. So there I was. strolling down the pier (well, battling my way down the pier at the lace of a Force 9 typhoon, actually, but that's not important right now), heading lot the arcade lor a lew games at txngo and a 99 like you do. when my attention was attracteO by something written on the beach below About baitway along the pier, in a huge expanse of virgn sand that there were no people within 200 yards of. at really neat handwriting' about three I eel high, was the phrase 'Here is a place of disaffection - TS Ekof I was thrown oft my stride a bit by this sudden unexpected rfcscovery (which was unlodunate. because the momentary toss ol concentration allowed the wind to seua me xi its gnp and I went staggering mto a small child, causaig his candy (loss and fluffy Hulk Hogan teddy bear to become fused alio one sbcky entity), but not quite as much as I was by the sudden unexpected arrival out of nowhere this month of probably the most original game I've seen this year

Reassunngty. Slob s s to have

%*;

[inrT B c • ■

popped

finished stale as a

sample ol work Irom coder Jormathar (tic] Hilliard, impressing the Core boys and girts so much that they bought d up on the spot It came la us m an unassuming. 'Oh. and by the way we ve got this - you might hke to have a look at sometime' kind of way. which made it as the more pleasant when it turned out to be so lab.

You're doubtful, aren't you You're looking at the screenshots and going

Inexplicably. Blob's world is made up entirely of square-shaped blocks, all of which have different properties and ways of affecting Blob's life. Here's just a selection...

Some tile* contain tmia hive* which can be

broken lo reveal

apod*', or baby Blob*. Theae follow you around and sometime* have to be teken to the exit to ectlvale It.

two thlnga that are exactly the tame, but would 256 coloura realty have made ary difference to a game like thli anyway 01 courea not

m i*t«r

® UPPERS Brilliantly

original (at tar at the Amiga goat, anyway), maddeningly addictive, and eerily verllgo-Induelng. Blob * a top character, loo - you really leal lor him when he gala hurl and doet hit tad puppy-dog eyes. Even H he doet look exactly like Putty.

® DOWNERS It would have been good to have tome kind of Inetructloni at Ihe Hart ol each level at to what your exact objective la - later on you have to tool around lor quite a while balore you work out which ton ol level 11 It. And cute though It It. you thould be able to cut the death sequence thort.

THE BOTTOM LINE

A superb original arcade puzzler with tort ol character, and a refreshing change Irom. well, pretty much anything. Vet another great game that (1(1 ~ could only ever happen Kn « on the Amiga IIU ™

fees. is a 3D game Noiyour

otherwise

expect), and doappeanng quickly into the vo<d as you leave them behind, creating a scary atmosphere ol isolation and uncertainty A misplaced nudge on ihe Oystick and you're falling, tailing down mio the inky blackness, becoming smaller and smaller unit you disappear horn view entirely, somewhere around where I imagine ihe caihode-ray lube ol your TV set used to be It's really quite frightening

And (hat. it you'd also care lo check out ihe Load 01 Blocks box elsewhere on these pages lor a little more technical detail, is pretty much Ihe extent ol it Much ol the beauty of Slob liea in ts utterly graspable simplicity - unlike some puzzle games you can work it out almost lolalty without recourse to the instructions, and it's nfculously enienammg just to bounce

BLOB

UKE YOUR BRAIN TO ANOIHER DIMENSION

'Doesn't look kke much lo me Reckon Skjatf's having another one ol his kxmy' turns Yup ' Bui you're •rang Think about it - how **rv games actually make you IhoU al lhem‘> How many games gel you flinchmg on ihe edge ol your seal0 How many garnet gnre you a dizzyng sense ol terror in the pit ol your ilomach when you tall down a hole0 The one does

Blob's a bouncy ban. and he kvei in one ol those strange, alien wrtds where me only way lo pass lha long sinless days is lo bounce around on < swim ol plallorms suspended, quite mmtily. n space Sometimes he likes lo pari Ihe plettorms different colours, sometimes he i*es lo wander across the sikways finding litile lost baby Blabs and reicuing them, and sometimes he ust bootees around lor the sheer hell ol il •terry, though, what happens is that he sips, ncochets or otherwise tails oft ihe edge ol Ihe platforms, and plunges into Ihe bos antes void to his presumed death

feefenng on ihe-edge precanousness before you even bother trying to play Ihe game properly When you get mlo it. Ihe gameptay isn't really that lar removed Irom One Stop Beyond, say. (with a lew baddies thrown m), but the viewpoint makes il feel like nothing else you've ever played (unless you ve

Speecy

old

got

C64

copy of

and

It'S gripping xi a way that I rather wish il hadn't been this week (if arrived in the last week belara this month's deadline, and I really shouldn't have spent the best pan ol three days with it before I wrote ihe review), and being so unexpected jusl made it more at a treat We broke several ol the natural laws ol time in order lo gel you some levels lor a coverdisk demo, so I hope you agpreoale il as much as I did This is wonderful • STUART CAMPBELL

• SNAX FACT: Although ihey share Ihe same name. Robert Smilh has nothing lo do wilh Smiths Cnsps A good way lo lei ihem apart a the Robert Smith a ihe overweight singer ol The Cure, who's yet lo realise that ha lipstick and make-up image only used lo work because he was thin, and ihe other makes crisps

where he starts a ump looking all happy and sell satisfied, then worried when he ■ealaes he s going lo tail, and even that bit where he goes an curty. Just like in Ihe TV advert

whereas previously they were made by lhal great Brush institution Smiths Cnsps

• SNAX FACT: In a simitar way, Cofm Curty has nothing to do with our very own Colo The i Publisher who s actually our.», I publisher And not curty at al. n f any real sense

• SNAX FACT: By the end o( this year, ihe setting up & the Eccrtm c Community wiii ailed even ersp consumers Duedrve WCl 92/15, as ratified m Brussels this June, states that all cnsps must conform lo the EC Homogeneous i Cotour Group Packaging Restrictions (Potato Snacks. Fned) which win bnng al wayward producers into kne From November 23rd ol this year, it will be technicsly illegal to put cheese and omon cnsps in bags of any colour other than green SimJarty, roast chicken flavoured must be packaged w orange, and unless

• SNAX FACT: One Step Beyond may be the second game to carry Ihe Colm Curly moniker, but curiously it s the first lo actually leature the character Pushover starred a strange little ant bloke, but Colin features heavty throughout One Step Beyond In fact, he's the only character in the game Just as wen that he's well-animated then, with each ump. tal and trampoline done m the same style as the character that implores you to buy, buy. buy There's the obligatory funny bit where he looks bored when nothing happens lor a few seconds, a great bit

• SNAX FACT: One Step Beyond is a puzzle game, k so no nasties to tump on \ or nngs to puck up. ust Su a test o< one dog-type animal against a senes 'w ol platforms and the ■ W clock. The idea s lo f close all Ihe plattorms within ihe lime limit.

Publisher:

Authors: In house Price: £19 99 Release: Out now

you literally quavering with excitement

puzzler will have

Never m my life have I been a great fan ol cnsps 0* chocolate, or tizzy dnnks tor that matter Given the choice at masses of over-processed, over-priced foods. I lend to turn away m revulsion and opt tor a pint ol semi-skimmed milk, a banana and a smal handful of cashew nuts every l me However, ful-time production editor and part-time human Dave Green was quick lo point out that snack foods form a sizeable part ol many people's diets and are also a multi-million pound industry n their own right, so I thought this would be an appropriate time to take you into the inctedtole world of poorty researched - Snajr Facts1

• SNAX FACT: Although Cofcn Curty (that funny scamp who features m the game One Step Beyond) has always worked for Quavers he ■ have recently lound a new name on the bottom of his pay cheque, as Quavers are now owned by Walkers.

More then jumping alio the bag of Quivers and every lime Coin jumps oft a platform, it automatically slides shut This in itsall 8 a bit Incky. as it's very easy to and 14] stranded al the other side of the screen, with all the in-between platforms already shut, but there's, as a crap TV comedian used lo say. more.

really Mot so. dear reader, m tact the only thing that I detested about it was the tiresome soundtrack with the naft boop' noises that seeped out of the speakers every lime Cofin jumped Turning the sound down and sticking on my Lloyd Cole tape solves that problem, and working my way through numerous levels a a great way to 'constructively till' many an hour in the office Who says all licences are crap Not us. that's for sure.

• MARK WINSTANLEY

t SNAX FACT: The first cnsp was nvented by a Mrs Theresa Mulcahey on Jive 15th 1895 The Mulcahey family had emgrated to Boston trom County Cork lo •scape the twin ravages ol despotic English rule and the B potato lamina, but although •wy weie new ivmg v the i opportunity and plenty, the wily Mrs U lound it hard Io shrug oft her Ihnfty Gaelic ways After a hearty *v«ring meal o< slew, our hr re no was shocked ' tnd that one ot her sons (a hard-working lad with a heart ot "

9*1 had peeled eicessve amounts trom fa potatoes and. rather than throw these valuable peel ngs away, she fned them up lor a dessert Voiia, instant ensps One ol tiese original snacks is now stored v a hermetically sealed jar at the Smithsonian Institute. Washington DC. and is said to be nsured lor a seven figure sum

• SNAX FACT: Many ot the platforms in the game have special powers, so when you jump oft one kind, lor example, all the platforms v the same kne will slide shut Others automatically lire r x you otf m a set direction

while another kind doses after a delay This o pretty handy as it means ■■■■fl itiat I you re last enough 71 you can hop oft it dose a

Htoad ot ether platforms lj B and then rrp

magical Quavers packet betore it shuts

• SNAX FACT: By correctly labelling the product, novelty snacks such as Hedgehog flavour'ensps can be pul on the market without the wholesale slaughter □t Bntam's most tlea-ndden and all-round crap toad-kill victims.

• SNAX FACT: You may tuck into a packet ol your favourite Savour with relish but whai [A exactly are you eating1 Most Ml ensps have never seen the : BI 'natural flavourings that they I B 1 cliim to represent, as they've f) spark the majority ot their young lives in a lactory ' E s

hook appeal. In that 'just one more level' sort ol way, which prompts all of those terrible hard lo put down' and 'a moment to learn, a lifetime lo master' cliches. But they're alt true, honest. Colin's such a great character at well.

® DOWNERS My Visa and

Mastercard bills, they're both pretty big downera at the moment, and the untimely accidental death ol Brandon Lee. that upset me immensely. Oh, and pretty much all the sound In this game's pretty poor loo.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Following In the tradition of offbeat and extremely playable puzzle games like Gam X and. arm. soma others. On Slap Beyond requires a combination ol both menial skill and arcade agility. Okay, so the sound's pretty terrible and you're probably not going to repeat It once you've done It, but » “1 2 with 100 levels, what's HI"

knew 4 would be (tom the moment I slotted in the first ol tour disks, switched on the power and was greeted by - not Sim Life, but - an mstaHalon program This then asked me tor three blank disks and. as I sal

and watched, spent the next halt an hour installing' the game onto them

The next portent ot doom was the manual It s 204 pages tong, it includes the phrase "as (armless as your imagination', it insists on beginning each chapter with a quote Itom somebody ridiculous like Douglas Adams (seemingly selected tor no other reason than its containing the word We ), and though it makes a valiant attempt to explain how the game works, it really does lace an impossible task

Which means I do. too Hr. Bascaty what you're doing m Sun Life (we It dispense with this SroLrfe nonsense.

your out (I

It does compare favourably with Sim Earth

ThankYouVeryMuch) >s playing around with evolution, watching species running around eating each other and either developing into new species or dying out (I think)

You start oil with a lump at terrain and watch as the program terralorms it and sods out its climate (That i bit's quite good tun) And then - wallop - you're confronted by millions and millions of titchy little cons, with no due as to what each one does, and reams ol almost-loo-small-lo-read wntng It s back to the manual. Irom which it's eventuaty possible to wnng the information that you've got (o spread plants and animals aboui the place You'n

li Fa

Th* Nff, »«rr fWM Maf tm n fat la da I* decide wha4 imh

MfK i 10 be Mhe. Mar Of hMT W«r Or drjt B4f f Or Bar

;*»»» root

s' 'rv

InJi

_ — — : TIM feae

3l" 0004 l 000 04 tw 00M

C000kuttk earn 4r» )04tr (00f«uM4

Oven a selection oi pie-detmed speoes lo

choose from: or you can design your own.

gwng them names, characteristics and

appearances It you've gnen

twm the right habitat they

fen run about 'he ,, V . 1

place eating. - ~ —-

mating, and 4

possibly evolving

mto new eiiii

apeoes You -J.UPil--

can invoke I , ——— Z rr

'natural VJ -— U. D

(toasters too it

you want like \ ——

plagues, and comets

Mng the earth It could

be thought ol as the ultimate

neamabon ol Lie, that really old

Computer game where little squares

reproduce and 6e on the screen making

pretty patterns

In eieculion it all seems to work Okay The cons and things are a nuisance, as I said, but they look smart enough. The rest ct the graphics - the toman and the animals - look terrible, but lay gel the job done and it's hard to imagine how they could be improved without making thugs even more compkceied still And everything runs at a tar speed

it's nothing like as much fun as San City. the game which began (and. as is looking increasingly likely, ended) Ihe Sun'

phenomenon The best pan of Sim City, you II remember, was building litre roads and lactones Setting laves was just something

-3krUMt.M you had to do

1

■■■r Lite can be seen

0 *- w as 90% setting

—— 5 k*i .«iW taxes, with road-

buiUmg shunted into the sidelines I can appteciaie what Maxes are trying to create - something you can load up and play with, just to see what happens But they seem to be going about if all wrong, swamping you with menus, icons, Asks. options, instructions, installation programs and squnty wntmg. 11 an seems a bn much, especially when you consider mat theie's not nearly as much to ihe game as might first appear - it's just eating, mating and evolving

The result s ust plain bormg Not as bonng as Sen Earth, but still really, really dull, and a chore rather than a pleasure to play There s absolutely no way I'm reviewing Sen Universe • JONATHAN DAVIES

_. Sapelatlif At merit

silk ««!■«!■ aat alien, ■kt In UH war

o<in

—>r. that ij

=sS— * «e itt ** - use *’

WHIT'S THE MEANING OF LIFE

Will, fiat's how it works But what bothers me 6 whai Sm life actually is. and whal me player's meant 10 get out ot it. The manual lakes a rather modish view cAiimng Sm life to be an artificial life ptayshoplooikiVworkshop'. or a software toy But toys don't require 200-page manuals lo be read from cover 10 cover before you even dare lo switch them on How about thinking ol it as an educational tool'1 The only lessen I can magine anyone learning from Sim Lite is fiat crap animals die out. and ones lhai manage lo adapt to lheir surroundings do all right And I knew lhal already Bui AMIGA POWE R isn't n Ihe business ot iM«ng educational software anyway A game, then'’ In that respeci it does at least compare favourably wdh Sim Earth (which I reviewed as well, oddly enough; I'm sure I'll get my reward in Heaven) That realty was a tedious, airless ill-conceived game In Sim Lite you <to actually gel to do a lair amount ol low-level linkenng about with individual annuls, plants and mountain ranges Bui

more together than Sim Earth, and looks slightly nicer As it the Maxis way, It does exactly what It claims to - simulating I He right before your eyes. Could be okay It you're Incredibly patient.

® DOWNERS Do they

actually try playing these things It's too weighty and complicated to be a software toy' (or whatever), too obvious to be educational, and too aimless and dull to make much ol a game.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Face It - when you A - y G 0 uw Jonathan Davies' at the bottom ot the review you knew exactly what sort of game to expect. Sim Lite is overcomplicated. tedious and can't seem lo makes Its mind up what Its trying to be. It's a jack PA 2 of all trades, and a master nil" of one - being boring. UU ■

THE BOTTOM LINE

This is the first game we’ve seen that's come out in an A12O0 version first (as reviewed hare). An A5001A600 one will be along soon.

burs) ol energy The obieci« in work out when and how to use each ol these techniques to make your athlete perform at the peak ol h«s abilities For example. in the long jump, the best combination is to Start with a slow build-up ol speed, then put on a burst ust betore the jump, but leave enough energy lor the jump rise!

So is Super Sports Challenge gong to cause a revolution m sports suns’ Somehow. I doubt it The

o on Admii it As soon as you turned to this page read 1 the name ol ihe game and glanced at the grabs you thought. Uh oh, waggle-lrenzy' I know I ckd when I was given it to review Sporls sims and waggkng are inextneabiy linked m the minds ot a generation Like buying a second-hand Mni and having to push start it on rany wintry mornings Like watching a US sitcom and cnngng at the moralistic bit Like gong to the cinema and linding yoursetl reohng. ‘Next door's budgie The Dog And Duck dahn the igh street * along with THAT ad Sports sims and waggkng are two things that we've come to accept go together

But get this - there is no waggling in Super Sports Cha tenge I would say it again to make it blatantly dear but the beauty ol the written woid is that you can

read it as many times as you Ike So go

on. then Read the first sentence m this paragraph as many times as you kke until you're fully convinced that you have come to terms with the concept Believe me. there's not even me slightest hint ol a twitch o< mere suggestion ol a rhythmical swaying ol the joystick Irom side-to-side

Yep. Super Sports Challenge has come up with a new system The question ■s. does it work’ I mean, waggling has been constantly derided over Ihe past decade (and has been the subject ot more smutty innuendos than you d tnd n a B8C2 repeal season ol the entire Carry On senes) but Ihe reason if has lasted a because the physicality ol il somehow suits the subject - sport

The system used m Super Sports Challenge's 10 events uses an energy bar which goes down as ; the athletes do then thang By pulling me joystick either lelt or right (depending on which way they're running, swimming ot jumping) you can make them gradually build up speed And pressing the Fire button gives them a short.

POLE MAUL

SPAIN At AT A

GREECE

00

•3 A

u

C 9

RECORD

C

FOUL IUMPS. EARLY STARTS AND FALLING AT THE FIRST HURDLE

TIm 1 Mb tfrlat, riiitl la a rackar udait •••■< la Ala jaaa.

Tlta las) jaa« - ar la H Aa tripla l*mp. 'a SMcall la (all.

ir« all a Maflaf al faitlaf ifea hraiAie] r>jM la Aa astasia].

ui *• '» *• b**1

control system works reasonably enough. bul A's static and a bit too caicUaied Once youVe learnt the best •ay to get your man to do hts stuff, it's tarty easy to repeal the formula Sure, faie are loads o( other game formats you could level lhal cntmsm at. but in, say. an pli dormer at least there's loads going on to keep you busy Here there are basically only 10 different things lo perfect, so if robs the game of a tot ol its excitement To be tan, the system does work better with some events than with others.

Mdueg ”

me Itfl lisp a Ell E ME till Rl SRI i"*94«na9 ■*ika HnHctiMi

t>< cava' •• M,‘ _

The javelin event.

for example, is one of the best of its type I've played at terms of control But with most ol the events, especially the races, the control system works agamst them, with the result that they're about as exciting as a live Rado 4 broadcast from the House ol Lords

ll« •vcrUi-iloiWir UckiiMi for tka tbti pil dMial aarfc

ti e bntofc with tradrbaa yai 4mm nail lire l« j«Rp lit birdlti

FOR THE HIGH IUMP

Even worse - rant coming up here - how did the programmers think they could get away with the Triple Jump" It's exactly the

same as the Long Jump - your athlete does his skip and jump bits automatically if you bit the Fire button at the correct time to make him do the hop Very lazy gameplay lhal makes lor a totally redundant event

The control system might have had more chance la make an impact if the presentation ol the game had been a bit more limiting Instead, we get pretty standard fare for a sports sim The 10 events have all been used hundreds ol times before ( ust for example, say. why do we never gel lo try our luck at the discus, (he speed-walk or the steeplechase1) and the competition mode, which allows up lo lour people la fake pari, is the usual formal It's a shame, though, that the shirt colours ol the players' athletes ate delated by the player number and not by the team you choose lo play as

The graphics are variable The swimming events look impressive, and some of the athletes are well animated, but the majority ol the graphics are at best uninspired while perspectives m the High Jump make it look kke a Picasso had a substantial hand in the design The score tables are also vile -1 reckon they're supposed to look kke they're set in marble, but they took mote like that really cheap

lino you get in DHSS waiting rooms instead

It's also incredibly slow in competition mode you're swapping disks like a DJ who's only got one working turntable and the game seems to access the disk every lime an athlete transters his weight onto a different loot - ultra yawnsome SSC isn't so much bad as dreary There are one or two bits that work fairly well, but despite the new control system, it ends up more like being forced to watch your little brother take pan m the school county linals m m dwnter than a lop class international sporting occasion • DAVE GOLDER

® UPPERS The Javelin event is one of the best computer throwing event! I've played, and the Isometric angle on the races It a new twist that works well enough.

® DOWNERS Drab

graphics, a control system that works against making the event! exciting and a predictable choice ot events.

I became very weary ot this game very quickly. The conlrol system works well with some events but Is ludicrously Inadequate for otheri. And I'm sorTy. but the Triple Jump was Just pointless snd s waste ol an event. Less than the sum Aft ; of Its parts and they don't ]U ~ add up to much anyway. UV ■

History doesn't record whai the popular tunes were m 14tn Century Europe, or the favourite styles at decorative codpieces, or whether princesses, lair maidens and all that tot preferred slingback or high-heeled Shoes Why doesn t history note down these lacts that seem all too essential in modem lifestyle magazines1 Wen, the man reason s that people n the 14th Century had much gnttier and down-to-earth problems to worry and wnle about - specifically, a war A big war A hooting great war It's bard to believe, but as wen as having no sanitary water, medical services or Vo1 MTV Raps, those unfortunate medieval lice-iaden folk also had to contend with a scrap that dragged on lor over a hundred years Talk about being bom under a bad sign.

Casdss 2 attempts to recreate this tumultuous penod of hislory by making 5 you Ihe ruler at a small European 2 province The game s based m the < fictitious lungdom of Bretagne, which is apparently where the original Cashes was

Oset. and lookng at the map it appears to be the lower half of France But anyway, this geographical speculation hardly

mailers, as ihe idea s lor you to become King ol Bretagne by means lair and foul How you go about it is up to you - you can trade with neighbours and be peaceable, or simply wafc over their countries callously beheadmg tvestock as you go The manual stales thal during Ihe penod of The Hundred Years War, (that's 1337 to

1453, history junkies] the blood of English and French setters saturated the soil and Ihe peasants were forcefully removed from their homes or killed, so from this you've got a good idea how io go about gaming that all-impodant crown

to deal with as well, such as feeding your memos, pulling the rubbish out on bm days, guarding your lands, washing the car every Sunday, frying not la gel excommunicated by the Pope, and so on With all that lot lo do. 4's no wonder so many people keeled over and died m the* late 20s - they musl've been knackered

sounds a Oil coolusing, its simply because there's a number ol things going on at the same lime, bul it's all handed n a fairly logical manner First, you need to have enough building biochs tor your empire, which in this case are food (lor eating, obviously), timber and iron tor construction and gold This is vitaty important as you've goi to pay your troops, bnbe or grovel to the Church and simper at nval leaders It s also handy because you can use it to buy any of the other three that you may have run out of. whKh happens because each region is nch m only one ol the tour commodities. So. to maintain a steady How of goods, you either have 10 trade with your neighbounng stales, or nvade them Hmm. which one Shan l go tor

Having decided you want to take over another region, you can either scout it to tmd out whal it produces, send m spies to find out how strong it is or usl amass an army to stomp it into the ground Each option takes up valuable man-hours, and the mam problem posed by the game is how you can manage your limited resources most effectively Since once you've set a task gong (such as building a castle or trading) you tie up the units until it's finished, you've got to work out 4

you're going to be attacked before you start policing your realm or recruiting soldiers Although this allows you to do all manner of tasks simultaneously, all this productivity manifests itsell as little bats gradually tilling up with colour, which is nedhei interesting nor particularly evocative o( leudmg medieval warlords You can tell that the programmers thought this as well, as they also included a lew other options to spruce up the overall look at the game

MIDDLE-AGED SPREAD

The first ol these is the combat sequences, and the only nice thing to say about them is that you don't have to look at them it you don't want to I reviewed a wargame called Cohort 2 back r issue 26 and although I was tar from impressed by it, the battles m Cashes 2 make it look like CD32 technology They really are dire The next slightly gmmacky thing that's thrust your way is the design a castle' section, where you can bmld round or square towers and thick or thm walls around a central keep The sue ol the castle detemwies its ability to quel unrest m that region, and the existence of the castle makes the combat sequences slightly interesting m that at least there's something to look at and also you have to buy siege weapons id knock them down.

Finally, there's the entirely gimmicky video sequences from various movies which crop up ai moments ol high drama They take up a Inn’s share ol the nme Asks (count em) that the game comes on. and are entirely irrelevant to the actual game, bui hey, they re not really worth it Shame thai

Neither

interesting

■ EWE

particularly L: evocative" '

.. J 1

So there you have i1. a game that consists lor the most part ol watching little coloured bars Ai random points little Answer A.B or C-type questions appear la lest your judgement, so it you behead an emissary Iron a rival or turn down the Church's plea lor money then you'l more than likely be labelled a b>l of a bad un and everyone will invade, but if you're firm but lair then the Pope will love you - which is handy as he's the only person with enough power to declare you king.

It's all just so diki though, with lack!us!re eombal tailing totally to t«fl the game out of the 10-year-old mould that it was cast in Last month we saw games such as the hugely labukxis Dune 2 and the almost cnmmalty awesome Syndicate which both took the ideas ol conquest, world manage men i and combat, and turned them into two ol the best Amiga games ever And Cashes 2 Wei it's the same price as either ol the above, and rl rea y doesn't even reach the starring Ine, lei alone rhe finishing post Tch • MARK WINSTANLEV

® UPPERS Probably the only game that takes the turbulent time* ot The Hundred Years War as Its theme, apart tram Its predecessor Castles.

I really can't see any room in the market lor this product at all. apart from diehard 14th Century wargame fans. Whoever they are. Trying to take over the world MUST be tun, otherwise to many nutters wouldn't keep trying, to there's no excuse to come up wilh such a dull game of it. If you want III

conquest and combat. jjj

buy Dune 2 or Syndicate. 1 ■ —

THE BOTTOM LINE

Not really any better, A12O0 I'm afraid - it's a general problem of pace, not graphics speed. Hmm. Can't wall for the C032 version

Roll up! Roll up! ...as Rich Pelley unbuttons his cuff and sticks his arm into the lucky dip that is the AMIGA POWER Complete Control postbag. What will he pull out today Level codes Power-up cheats A solution to Flashback Hey - let’s find out!

i can put forward no ideas ol my own as io why line a. but at ‘at as this month's smalt tips go. things ssir to be rather laval-ccde or AFG-onestiSat Jus is wst than that it was also this month that Martyn Haigh ol Bucks chose to vrfiU n small oflenng lor Thaiamui Cuba, giving me at least one opportunity to break the routine Pause the game and type A FINE KETTLE OF FISH The Function key- -re now active to Ship you through the levels

(ICE)

Anthony Canlano. of Mate Park, hat unearthed this cheat to significantly incre.se your chiracteri' experience. Attack and kill any tingle monster (or group ol monsters). When H (or they) begin to visibly lade away, cast any hold monster' spall that you have such is Dream ot 'Hold Everything'. The creature will caasa dimming and jual all there. Now you can attack with your lighten or cat! attack spall a (Including Fire Area') to raka In the experience pointa with •<1,411 4 no worry ot the mon tier going anywhere

< plea.' canaMr until the apell weara oft Thla can be

leeks ilka V. ■ vefllied by watching tha experience

standees 4*... *r ' line In tha character aheat grow

y ' ' ■ ' ■ while you ra attacking tha laded

* , • 10f creature. It you are quick enough

you can ra-lraaza tha monalar,

" * otherwise juit go and find another one to rapaat your trick on.

Wrarv t--

Cjw;

F- ~F -1-

1 ..swart trea is.1 ™ in. --a a taaa k.la la. a villa

callactlaf ap kta .■parlaa.a peiaBi.

jUjiiMiMi

I f* t

FLASHBACK + BILL'S TOMATO

GAME POPULUS 2 - THE CHALLENGE GAMES

BILL'S TOMATO GAME t

Psygnosia)

Wfci *rnn* excitemeni - - y ——- ■ ,1

tie: a as gong on in issue

second-io-none, quck-wfled. intelligent

reviews and features. (he chances ara very tew ol you noticed mat we only ;i.e you complete codes tor me first five levels of fi.i's Tomato Game W«r apart from William Burcheii ol Lincoln, of course, who provided these

O Jolly ChrldrBn of the Unrverse nre am my tips lor Populous 2 -The Challenge Games Whai have you go to say to mat. then

Jonathan Tasker. East Barnet'

Er now about 'thanks', John

0234 -

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

VERDANT

WALLS

FIRE

BASALT

PAPAL

HEAT

OBVIOUS

BULLFROG

SURROUND

RANGER

MAGNET

SURFIN

DIAGS

BANDITS

WINDS

WAVE

WALL

FUSE

MIGRATE

HURDLE

SIEGE

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Laver

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

level

Level

Level

Live*

Level

level

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30 3f 32

SFICE

CONU

MUSHY

GAUNTLET

UWORLD

SPLITTER

CELTIC

ELECTRIC

ILLUSION

ESCAPE

SABOTEUR

RITES

GUARDS

EXTINCT

PATHWAY

RUNNER

TWIN

ORCHARD

ROCKY

FRYING

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

Level

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

14

15

16 17 '8

19

20 21

DON'T

<Jy Granny reads AMIGA POWER (because I'm m it), but she would think it us rude it I asked you to send in your cheats, tips and codes and then you 3dnl So you'd belter send something to AMIGA POWER. 30 Monmouth Street Bath. Avon BA1 2BW We re particularly on me look-out for run-pfay guides (to NEW games only] to mduda on these two pages There rs fte added incentive ol large pnzes tor these rt you comply

COMPUTE CONTROL

(Dalphlna)

Laet month thing* teamed to get rather cut off In the middle ol Section 2 (password: BURN) - the only other thing you may need to know it that the third terminal along (a the correct one to Inter! the card Into. Other than that - let's gat on to Section 3!

Section S (password: CHIP)

Ona guard drop* a key If you (hoot him. Go up a screen and lime your way past the dialntegratori. Pick up the telecontroller, receptor and key from above and recharge down the gap. Pat* both the disintegrators and tha gap to the right by throwing the receptor and using tha controller. Take a running grab onto the first platform to avoid the appearing disintegrator end climb down. Hera lies your Drat sllma alien. The beat way to taka these out fa to roll away from them and wait for them to nearly catch up or drop on lop ot you before rolling back the way you came, turning and firing. Sava In case you mesa up teleporting past tha dll Integrators (you'r* sale to tha immediate left of the door), and zap to the nail section

Soction 3 (password: EQQS)

Watch out for security bees on the third and lourth and lint and second screens to tha left and right respectively, end taka the lift up. Activating the switch to the right, step over and back onto tha door twitch, then duck and grab upwards between bleats. Jump the trapdoors over tha landmines for three screens to the left and prapare to tika out a guard. Draw your gun bafora rolling a level up. slap onto tha switch and duck.

You will ding onto a platform It you run over the drop on the rieil screen. Lower youraeil down, roll under tha second tailing mine and running-jump your way onto tha neat acraen. Roll through tha second and third landmines and racharge. Lat the guards come to you at the bottom right ol Level 3. utilise the I or cel laid on Level 2 and •hool the guard on Laval 11

Section 6 (password: TREE)

Go right, up, slaughter two aliens, pull the switch and racharge If required. Drop the receptor on tha lift, tumble down the gap and run lo the mid-bottom ol the ecreen before shooting the thrae allans. (It you r* in trouble, teleport away.) Use tha atone to open the door lo the left, ignore the

mouse, head left, pull the switch. > blast tha door open and, ar.

I pull ihe other one (the

other switch, that is).

4 ! Kill Ihe resulting alien

1 v' and carefully take out ■ *—0 tha allan to the left. ** teleporting away to

_ recharge If need be.

f f Pick up the diary, call

f the lift, go down, right,

T= and lelapotl down the

m / apparent abysa. Make

i your way through the other screens lor the key, head right ot Ihe abysa and unlock I ha keylock.

Section 4 (password:

GURT)

Us* ol the force field is now essential, so be warned. Slay tha ——

policemen, tumble left, ~—

(hoot the robot, and run peat Ihe second 4 before drawing and firing. Face and aland lo ihe left ot the lift and take a ducking ahol at the policeman belore rolling left at the bottom and killing him. Walch out lor more policeman, a robot and Ihe pH on the next three screen! and hell Ihe taxi. Ignore Ihe robot, taka a running ump from tha top platform, shoot tha glass and ump through. Descend, head right, climb Ihe blue light, ihattar the door and collect the key.

Now. proceed right to the keylock. Recharge lo the right, pull the switch lo tha left and lake the Itfl down by said keylock. Scale tha blue light and wall (or tha lift. Climb, pull Ihe switches along Ihe two corridors and gat Ihe key. Unlock Ihe keylock and ascend. Roll over tha first trapdoor to reach tha units. Climb down the gap, pull ihe switch, gal the key, take the lift up, use the key and re-aava in case you now go and mass up tha next bit.

liilcsly, •« ihraa

reck, rail.

II

Soction 7 (password: BOLD)

Go up, zap Ihe aliens, pockat tha mice, then climb up and taka a running jump to avoid Ihe tailing mine*. Placa the receptor next to the lift, ascend and activate the switch. Lure tha alien out ot hia pit and back towards tha anergy generator to get more killing room. Pull the switch and taleport back. Pick up and use tha kay the alien drops, taka tha lift, climb the raat of the way and time your way pest tha dltintegrators. Stand to the left of lift 2 to avoid tha landmines, and teleport down the shaft. Kaep shooting tha aye, ducking beneath Its fire, and taleporl down.

Ventura far right along familiar ground and drop the receptor, go all tha way back lafl, taka the lift down, go through the door, atand in tha middle ot the aereen and ahoot the aliens (they only taka ona shot). The hanging creaiura needs lo be shot from alternala aide*, while taking care ol the groups of aliens, starling with Ihe left. (Roll away aftar aach ahol.) After rolling through the disintegrators you will ba fold what to do with tha Nuclear Device. Pull Ihe switch, teleport and take the lift up, up and away..

And now try H on tha hard' aettlng.

M

a

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1993

um to yea II you ve ipant the lift monlh doing one of Iwo thing*: bttfllng valiantly through the game on your own, or carefully working through the prevloua I*cue'a play-through. Anyway, grab your Joyatlck and aqualung, and head for [dramatic pauaa] The Deep!

The down-aide of thla level la that you can'l attack anything underwater (well, you try awinglng a aword In a awimmlng pool - hard, lan't It ) no you've got to avoid everything.

ILook out eapeclaily for the Skull which look* a lot like the bonua akulla, but doean't apln round. The good aide of thi* level la that there are *o many bonua point* around that if you were to atuff them all In one of thoae carrier* that they give you in aupermarketa, the handle* would anap even before they'd had time to dig painfully Into your hand*. There * alao a pipe ayatem (hat'll whooah you all over the place, and if It wasn t for u* giving you all thla helpful advice, you'd end up horribly loat.

2Ju*t jump Into the firat pipe and than awim up and around to the left, where you'll find a cheat with diving boot* In them. These are heavy enough to atop you bobbing up to the surface, and alao pretty eaaantial later on In the level.

3 To the right of the cheat are a further two plpea, so leap down the bottom one to get to all manner of smashing bonus thingie*.

Still in the dark about how to finish this Krisalis cutie Mark

4Juit lo balance out the game in a Yln-ind-Yang soil of way, you'll find yoursalf heading face-first Into a ball and chain if you take the top pipe. This Is not a Good Thing, but If you avoid It and go through the pipe on the right, you'll find yoursalf in an area with six plpea In It If you're not careful, you'll be shot from one pipe to the next and eventually go whizzing off In the wrong direction. What you need to do la re-enter the pipe you came out of and this lime you'll be set back onto the right path. II you can atop yoursalf In the middle ol the pipe area, pick up the bonuses and the extra life.

5 Avoid the ball and chain, leave lha cheat hidden in the hole as It's a Irap, dodge the swimming enemiaa and skull* and than negotiate the spikes. This is where you're either glad you've got the diving boot* or wishing that you'd picked them up after all.

The next section winds through the rock. Head for the pipes lo get the correct route but don't worry. If you get It wrong you still end up getting soma bonua paints!

You gat to the last room before the Water Guardian, and here you get a chance to renew your health by using

up any potions you may have. There's also a secret room up near the spikes.

6 The Guardian uses bubbles to force you into the spiky roof, so you've got to dodge them, and also avoid falling Into the water, as lor some reason this suddenly becomes fatal. Every time Ihe Guardian starts to shake, he's about to attack, so gel out of the way, boyo.

7 The mine-cart race Is all about speed, and even though you can collect ewels, remember that the most Important thing Is to finish the race. You can do this In the other cart, or even without any cart at all. and If you manage to finish without a wheel on your carl, you'll score a huge bonus when you get to the Custom* Desk.

The best way to get a good time through this level is to cut corners. Instead of bouncing off the bumpers, slow down before you get lo them and drop straight dawn the ramp. Also. If you slow down loo much going uphill, hop the carl upwards rather than going back for a longer run-up.

Late in the race, just before the second wall of ice, there's a short

cut. When you gel to Ihe two arrows, hop from platform to platform making sure you avoid the magnet (olherwist you lose the wheels) and you'll miss i big chunk of the level. Should you miss this route, get over to the bottom right ol Ihe map and ump out of the cart anc onto the arrow, which will fire you upwards Finally, If you can find the super speed key, you'll have no problems winning the race.

9 0ownwards and onwards to Ihe Olamond Mines, which only has a few secret rooms, but has lots of short cut-llke sort of bits. The large hole after the conveyor bells isn't on* of these however - it’s merely a fairly obvious lure to tempt you onto the hideously long and nasty spikes beyond.

A A To get up the long tunnel,

I w you've got to hack at soma of the Ice blocks to carve a way to the lop This route’s a bit longer than simply going along the tunnel on the right, but also a tad more profitable In the the ewel stakes.

A A Although the buzz-saws look 11 Intimidating, they follow a sat path. This means that il you watch

DXUXMG BOOTS

Li jua JRi

Winstanley provides some illumination.

ihem, they'll repeat their movements, making H pretty easy to dodge past and gal Into the secret rooms. There's mother secret room st the lop ol the lecrat hills, and another on the edge o! the cliff where the guard Is.

J A Past the danger sign and the \£. block of spiky lee Is the tunnel leading to the Fire Guardian. There's a final secret room by the spikes on the left of the lunnel. As you fall down, pull Ic the left and you'll find lhaf you can walk through Ihe fake spikes.

4 4 0 To complete this level.

lO “ 19 you've not only got to tnuf< out the Fire Guardian, but also indulge In a bit of Infanticide. Yup, his ton's with him, and the obvious way to croak the both ol 'em Is to douse them in water. Fortunately for you (and nther stupidly lor the Fire family) they live just below some water pipes.

You've got to prime each valve with a lew hits so that every lime one of Ihe Guardians is below one, a single strike will put the dampeners on them. Hoorah lor you! You're now on Ihe approach to the VUtler's palace but would you believe It. we've run out of space again. Tc*i! Next time, maybe. •

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1993

II

Whether it’s busting tanks or protecting archeological

in many ways, ihe tanks used in Wat In The Gull are radeaify dilfereni from ihose thal you come across m everyday usage Unlike fishtanks. they're not t oed with water, and their floors are more likely 10 be littered wth armour-piercing shells than multi-coloured gravel. Hot water tanks, the centrepieces ol most central heating systems, may be made ol metal, but I'd shout a hearty chmny reckon to anyone who claims that theirs could slop an high-explosive squash-head round But anyway

You want help m busting the cream of Saddam's armoured division nght0 Okay, having 16 fully-crewed-up lighting vehicles would do the )ob pedectiy. but snce they'd lake up valuable kerti s-de parking space, a copy of Warm The Guff wil have to suffice. When you're playing, remember that the Mi tanks have superior armour, and so should be used for any close-quarters rough stuff, and thal the TOW missiles on the M113s have better range and stopping power so should be kept back lor Are suppod if you position units so that they're just on the tree ime. then you'll be able to fire on the enemy while remaining camouflaged That's the theory anyway

txii IniHfed lo Ibis

party, bill Ibcfll kx

Battle for Failalca Island

1 Alt hough you're supposed lo first work out where the convoy's goetg and where it's come from, you can make life easier by looking on this map and then wa&ng to and Mling everything that moves It s best to split two units oft down the main road towards A; Zor. and send the other two across country to Saad Wa Saeed

As you're moving up. you'll see a convoy heading out of Az Zor at speeds that I'd imapne are Waiantly haunting Kuwaiti traffic laws The important pad ol the nodhem unit's mission ts to destroy the warehouse that they came out of, which is to the northwest of the village Once you've done that, deploy your fortes to the south of the village to block any enemy units thal dare lo try and return to Aa Zor.

When your other unit reaches Saad Wa Saeed hide «t the tree line or you'll and up catching far too much fire You should be able see which warehouse ihe convoy lurns into, but H you don't, it's not a piobfem1 We can now endusnrefy reveal that it's the second warehouse trom the south that's the important one. so get shooting Assuming you've acted correctly on our almost invaluable info, then power-ups awarded, you've won the first battle

2 You've next got lo drive out all the forces from the archeological site at Ikaros, hah the counter-attack and then locate some Gaskin missiles, and ail before breakfast The problem is that you're not allowed to even chip any of Ihe ancient buildings at Ikaros (that means no collateral damage', technical term fans) - if you destroy even a single building, then you've lost the battle It you sneak up through the trees and fire on the occupying forces using TOW missiles, it's possible to rout them without even getting shot at

To prevent the forces retaking the town, it's a bad idea to occupy it. as it's bound to gel wasted m the crossfire. Instead, you should nng your lorees round the edges of the forests and ambush them as they speed across the plains lowaids the town While you're waiting tor this counter-attack use one of your Ml units to search for Ihe missile site and destroy d Once you ve dona that and held off the enemy tor about 30 mmutes. you re a bona-fide gosh-damed war hero

3 In the next bang-shoe! you've got to protect a group of support vehicles, which arnve in Failaka village about IS minutes after the game starts To let them through you've got to clear the northern road of the enemy and. as a final task, you ve got to wipe out ihe helicopters in the northern airfield

To dear the road, send three units to concealed Postons next to the three toad docks and then launch ttnultaneous attacks on all o! them Next, move two units Muth to defend the convoy - one unit east of the village and one to the northwest should provide enough cover.

This leaves you two unts tree to attack the airfield, although you can get away with using only ooe unil if you realty want It you do this, you can leave the fourth unit m the mddk! ol the map to act as a reserve unit lor either the convoy defence or the airfield attack Place the attacking forces xi torest cover near the air stnp and blast an the choppers as quickly as you can. as you'll also have another counter-attack to contend with Once you've reduced these brces to pools ol molten metal, then it's Millet Ttme'“ -jcu ve laken Fa -aka Island!

Battle for Bubiyan Island

4 This one s a onch - all you've got to do is get over the bridge and blow away anyone who gets m your way Next you've got to wait tor attacks (tom the south and make sure that you don’t come under fire by hiding behnd twigs or something Leave two units m cover defending the bndge. and send the other two in to attack the police post Use the best as cover so that you'll end up at dose range to Ihe west, and then work out your very Own version ol Mi Ice T's controversial track. Cop Kilter. Once you ve held the bndge lor 30 minutes or so, you ve won Congrats

5 After this pushover, there's a strong chance that you're gomg to get your sorry ass completely trashed on this one, so listen good There's an all«d convoy that has to run N and fro along the road, and you've got to protect it from (Sacks coming from the west If you try and escort the convoy, you II end up accidentally shooting at yourself most oi the time, so the simplest way is to form a state barner on the eastern edge ol the minefield This way. the convoys are saiely behind you. so anything that comes into view can be consxtered a legitimate target It you keep an eye on the convoy's position, it's possible to predict where the next attack will come Irom. and although this battle s got the pctentai tor getting horribly messy, it you stay cool then it's possNe to do it withoul losing a single vehicle

6 Your first problem In this one is to stop the advancing column of armour coming down the road Irom the east, so send a unit straight away to make their day as unpleasant as possible While this is going on. you need to scout around and destroy two tanks that are hiding inside buildings These are placed at random, but it you cruse around the battlefield you'll notice that each wood has a burld-ng to the south of it.

To avoid collateral damage of valuable Kuwaiti real estate, imtch to mlra-red and the tanks will show up even through me buikkngs Boom1

If you keep to the edges of the battlefield as much as possbie, you'll keep the number ol clashes to a minimum, and if you take time out to blow up radar towers, satellite tkshes and comm toweis. your fiscal remuneration (Eh71 mean you'll get loadsa money') from the Kuwaiti officials wifi be most impressive. You've also gol to make sure that you can reach the rendezvous poxtf m rime, wtveh is ust east ol me most southerly lorest It you manage this, then you've once more proved that nvght is nght, and that H the meek ever inherited the Earth, then hard men with guns would take < away Irom them again. Straight away And on that cheery nola I'l leave you to blast your way across the Middle East all on your own Bye •

Gama: Football Tactician 2 Publisher: Talking Birds Authors: In house Price: £22 95 Release: Out now

We ve had ihis one advertised m the mag lor a lew months now. and quite literally some letters Irom insane loctbail management game devotees practically begging us to tell them how it compares to Iwr beloved Ch&rnfxonsftp Manager Premier Manager. Graham Taytor's 8eabng The USA Chatenge (pHt<) and all tie rest Wen. I slacked a bit on last month's issue, so as penance I decided il was lime I got back lo my roots and reviewed it. Not that I've got anything against football management games - the original Footbat Manager was one ot my aUxne favourites, it's ust that every one ol the eight million I've seen since then seemed lo add nothing worthwhile lo the anginal lormula. and a Significant percentage of them actually made things worse For me. Ihe adorement«ned Champtonshp Manager ■as the biggest oHender Ct the tot - while imdeniabty comprehensive and 'authentic', it was so i/ibearabiy stow to play and completely devoid ot any ol the excitement tension and thniis that must surely come Irom a real football management job, that I just totally failed to see the point ot it.

Anyway. Footbat Tacboan 2 seems to be getting itself a bit ol a good name on he sheepskm-iacket-and-llat-cap circuit, with as fancy new-tangled weekly updates and versions tor every nationality under the proverbial sun Personally, and predictably parochially, t chose the Scottish League version, beside myself with happiness at be concept ol taking on the mantle ot Stenhousemuii.

Oueen Ot The South or Hamilton Academicals and once ■gam visiting the haunting-

grounds ol my youth in such lar-Hung and exotic places as Airdne. Dumfries Motherwell and Falkirk (sigh) The more glamorous-minded among you might prater to go lor the new Italian model, boasting all the delights ol the legendarily competitive (ah ha ha ha -nght. MilanBrescia tans ) Sena A and B

Anyway, on with the game FT 2 boasts ait the usual features you'd expect from the genre and loads more besides, nght down lo drugs-testmg m Ihe Italian version -in tact, there are so many ol them that the game comes with its own regular news-sheet detailing amendments, updates and improvements Sady, what it doesn't come with is a very uselul instruction manual - I spent a fruitless 30 minutes searching lor the way lo alter a basic staple of the manager's job (my team's

me. though, was that there seemed to be very little I could actually do to influence matters - while there are probably unseen depths (hat'd take weeks to find. I got the impression I'd seen it alt after about a quarter Ol a season Maybe I just missed Ihe Mile slick-man highlights ol Footbat Manager, but after the nationalistic thnl had worn off. this made me leel like going and watching a nice game of cnckel. and that's just about the worst crime ol all • STUART CAMPBELL

Swmi at tka laasJwa of lop-

laoiaa loot, _

formation), before sadly conducing that simply wasn't possible to do so Another

oddity is that you only seem to be able to study the shot by-shot development ol a match m retrospect, whoh kind ot sporfs the tension a M Now it may welt be that fm ust oof operating the menus properly, but if that is the case. S’s just another symptom of Ihe game's pretty unfriendly user intedace - this isn't a game built with the casual or novice player in mind Still, I wouldn't like to give the impression that it's all bad - Footbat Tacboan 2 works just line most ol Ihe time, and it's nee not to have lo always piay Hereford or something What threw

® UPPERS Faater-playlng than many ol (tie games I've teen In the genre, and Talking Birds do sesm to have an admirably non-partisan view of the footballing world.

® DOWNERS I could be wrong, but there only seemed la be about four things to do for moat of the lime, and there was nothing in the way ol visual, sonic or other reward for your continued slogging through the menus.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Well, It s no worts than most of the other footle management games, but beyond some different teams II didn't seem lo offer anything betterailtier. Not Q4 — exciting at all (but maybe fl I jjj It'a not meant to be). U I 5

The Hanseatic League was a merchants co-operative covenng northern Europe. ScarvJnavva and the Slavonic nations during the 13lh and 14lh Cenlunes. proveng a monopoly lor German traders on (he transport ol goods between easl and west As well as making its members very nch. it provided the framework lot a new style of European potties, ending the dominance oI the Church and the monarchy, shitting the emphasis lo democracy and equality, and mdreetty tnggenng the Renaissance and a new revolutionary era

In return lor their subsenpdons. members ol the could take advantage ol complex trade agreements between many nations They received protection tor their shps. often through the organising ol convoys to

h. it I

ie League plex trade

hat>AAe TKau

counter the threat

Irom piracy And. m addition, they had the opportunity to take political office oftenng both power and prestige

I know al this, not through choice, but because The Patnaan's 120-page manual carries a hax-raismgly detailed history ol the Hanseatic League by way ol background information You see. YOU ARE a buddng member ol the League, trying to make a splash m the cut-throat world ol medieval Iredng (No. really - you are) By controlling a Heel ol merchant ships, sailing them Irom port to part loading and unloading their cargoes, keeping them shipshape' and lighting oft pirates, you've got to

much dosh as possible And by manipulating popular opinion.

• getting *i with the nght

C company, marrying into

money, and helping out your home town when it’s m trouble, you ve got to try to nse lo the heady office ot Mayor, and then, ultimately. Alderman ol the League *■* By now you’ve probably

reached one ol two conclusions: either (a) I really am the least engaging reviewer you ve ever had the displeasure ol readng. and I'm jolty lucky you're st<> here, or (b) The Patnoan is. to put it kmdty. a specialised taste'

In the case ol the termer I'd plead extenuating circumstances, but o< the latter there can be no argument The Patnoan ts a game aimed exclusively al those with an interest, or a potential interest, si 14th Century European politics Anyone else can go boil their heads as tar as it's concerned

The graphics might be quite attractive, and those pictures do feature some quite intricate animation - little people dancmg about, smoke coming out ot chimneys, that kind ol thing But they're pictures ot the annoying 'dick on the lithe man standing next to the ship to give you a damage report' vanety. and quickly become a tiresome way ol navigating around the game, parleularty when you consider that it's f 4lh Century history you're ostensAly interested n, not pretty graphics

You could view if as a straightforward strategy trading game, with the added tonus' ol a detailed historical background - a bit like Pine without the flying-around brls (or that mlunating

Tear Ink, vlMMl all flftJBCial tfiiuckoai take flan

roiling-lhiough-90-degrees just-lo-luma-txiy -brtlo-one-side business) Bui the actual guts ol (he game seem a Hite thm il you took beneath the surface, and (he rewards don't really justify all Ihe mucking about with numbers and things I remembei having much more tun with a game caned Pirates by Microprose Just kke The Patnoan, ii had you sailing around ihe high seas iradng goods fighting oft pirates and getting married. Bui. while i tacked authentic detail, you actually got to see your ships sailing about, and it all seemed much more exciting

No. this is a game lor the two. maybe three AMIGA POWER readers with a fondness for medeval European politics They! love if. I ddn'L • JONATHAN DAVIES

® DOWNERS If you're not interested In the background, playing ft Is likely to prove tedious. And anyway. I'd question whether there's actually that much gameplay underneath the graphics (and tunes). And I really do gel annoyed by pictures that you've got to click on obscure bits of to get to other areas ol the game.

THE BOTTOM LINE

It's feasible (though the odds ■gainst It are colossal) that this could be your thing. It's polished and nice to look at - atmospheric, almost. Bui there's nothing much to actually do beyond marvelling at Ihe I™ J 2

money) you have 10 go through something bad to get it (playing the tiresome game). It's a bit like eating a pork pie and havng to wade through all that noxious jelly to get lo the good meaty bits m the middle, Let's get this ,

straight II Micky 2 were a F *' i '

pork pie, and believe me. t i

it might as well be, it £ :

would be all slimy slutt -

and no meal Well, ■

perhaps I’m being

slightly loo harsh 1 1 j K

iheie There might be _ y a pen. Ivghtty browned V4 rl

cmst But essentially it 4 ——

woutd be slime > , j

So. what's wiong with it1 Firstly, it's yet another platlorm game Okay, that's nol a bad thing si itsett, but it you've played gems like Zoo! and Putty, there is absolutely nothing here lo excite or interest you. It's lust another bloody platform game For the leader who's been asleep at the back of the class tor the last decade, ths means that you have to run ar i ump V around a tot. collecting 0b 6ds. killing enemies, solving puzzles and revealing secrel passages It's been done a ml bon

times beloie. and it's been „ an( done a million times better. U) —.

Secondly, it Sutters C

from a dstmc! lack ol I

ongnakty and inspiration 'JJ hiBI

Nicky can fly on his goose. rH

but didn t we catch James fli

Pond piloting an aeroplane'7 Fj 9 Some evil fiend has stolen his W toys and he has lo hnd them - yO doesn't that remind you of a « game about a certain shades- ” weanng kid7 Ladders grow

If you looked on the bright side, you mght conceivably begin to suggest that if it draws on so many elements from so many afferent games, then it must be pretty damn good It you did start to suggest that. I’d slap you round the lace and drone on for hours about the game's horrific Lack of pace, the tiny spntes. the diri backgrounds, the appallingly cute enemies, the homfie graphical bugs, the annoyingly precise jumps • RICHARD LONGHURST

You’ve got lo ask yourself a question 'Do l want garkc mayonnaise on my quarter pounder or do I want ketchup’" No. hang on. that’s not il Here's a better one 'Do I warn to chew off my lingers or do I want to play another nondescript pUrtorm game’" Yes. that's more like it Sorry about the slow typing, it's just thal I’ve gnawed oft most of the digits of my leh hand and the thumb ol my right As you can well imagne. this makes rt rather difficult lo operate a keyboard, not was! because the keys keep gertmg stuck loge'her with b xjC and Ms cl skin

All a bit ironic really '

because I ended up pfsyng this dismal platformer anyway You have to. you see - it's m the contract ' ’ "

simulation or leave lor the Amiga to sort out As battles are won and losl your map ol France is constantly updated to show the tide ol the conflict

Oh dear, I haven't gat much space left, so I'll be bnel I don't like this game much. The bombing missions are second-rate (light sims. with a hopelessly inaccurate aiming capability. The paratrooper section is a laughable attemp to gel your paratroopers n the correct position on the ground whde they flotf down The tank and mlantry Jw- sections are by tar the beat but even they tend to kadi ■■BB exatemeni It's also nddlnd with We B i rotations. ike the v unlorgivabie ack ot • H '•••' a sea:---! (*sk drive which as 1 comes on tour disks, a a bit ol a problem) Also. I you tail a mission you're not given an option to play it agam, but get taken back io the rna«i menu. Irom which you have to go through the whole ngmaroie Ol wading through menus, swapping disks etc all over again Sloppy No. I'm sorry, this does nothing lor me • TilU TUCKER

ihale war Nol so much because ot the needless waste ol innocent life and B the tenuous hen that is endured in the name of an .:

outmoded concept at nationalism that leads only to the immense psycho igical tormert and -noonsolabie gne* ol a mourning populace struck by the ultimate luti ity TM ot it ail amidst the senseless annihilation ol the planet s inhabitants and resources, encroaching on Our sceptred isles like a dark angel sowing the seeds at apocalyptic death and destruction over the once-lertile but now tallow land which bore our loielathers m their determined but ultimately tragic pilgnmage to the present day

No, more because I used to dread

double PE on a Wednesday _

a tin moon and I understand

that the training m the army m $

BBBB B • r

worse I 've seen an Otticer And A

■■■B jeWeman It's a about

having to polish your boots every day. with any sign ot weakness pur shed by absurd

tortures, such as running around on the beach carrying a heavy log and constantly being sprayed with water by a Sergeant-Major who’s really good at Kung Fu. By this point, going mlo battle seems like it would be a positive relief

Wargames. on the other hand, are a tot ol fun Or can be I'm afraid that m the case ol D Day it's '--I less ol a

You can take part m individual missions with each ol the divisions, which is essential to start with, because each Simulation has a completely different game engine and requires getting used to Once you're fully conversant with them, you can then take on Operation Overlord, which was the code-name chosen lor the actual D-Day landings This involves the computer Knowing various scananos at you. which you can choose to enher cope with yourself using the appropriate

"Hardly. I've already done all tha hard work - playing the darned thing.

It t a tricky blighter to turfed aft on. you know. II takei ages Just collecting together your band ol live adventurers. And when you have got t reasonable team and send them oft on some sort at mission, ell they do Is argue or gel killed by Ores."

“Oh come on. You're being a bit herd on It. surely."

Yeah, okay. It's got Its moments The 30 views are dead lush, and the way your merry band of adventurers interact is great: did you know that you can gat characters who end up trying to kill each other'’ There's even Ihn in crized woman who works hat way through the entire mile cast

"Phwoar, ah lids "

Yaah. that aspect ol the game is a And lha controls

system Is easy to get the hang ol, the combat sections are mercifully straightforward, and lha training and apeii-laarnlng bits ire a lol laas complicated lhan mail RPGs. Bui "

"I knew thfi was coming."

"But there's uat too much wandering about almlasaly for what seems Ilka hours on end. and the plot Is virtually non-existent - some evil geezer's taken over the land and you've got lo reach hit castle. Ishar, and stop him Hardly groundbreaking Huff. I* if And it mikes the game as ■ whole pretly formless and llabby."

"Oh. It s not bad, I suppose, but nothing special And lha 1200 version is no real impiovirrent. I mean, all I can really think lo say in Ihe review it that If I lor A1200-ownlng adventure tana who haven't got anything better to play thfi month. Excepl they have - Ithtr2.‘ 'Sure, great.

But we pay you lo write more lhan that.' “Hmm I II think ol something..."

• DAVEGOLOER

UPPERS

Luverty

v-»., y graphics, a dead aimpie control lytlem and a leim ol adventurers who intend with each other realistically.

li e an RPG with a novel twill and a Iriandly. logical Control syelam. but it s let down by a generally dull plot lhal doasn I draw you in.

And there s no major changes lo the original.

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1««3

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1993

You open this door with the key of some money. Beyond it lies another dimension, a realm of things and ideas, partly - but mainly of cheap games. You’ve just crossed over into... The Budget Place. 'Zone', surely - Ed)

FACE OFF

Publisher: Krisalis Price: £9.99 Release: Out now

Ice Hockey tens aren't very well served on the Amiga Hopefully, we ll be able to persuade Electronic Arts to convert their fabulous NHLPA Hockey, which IS SO popular on the Mega Drrve. but until then your best bet is Face OH Unfortunately Face Oil isn't perfect by any means It otters you arcade action and a management section, both separately and m conjunction, but neither genre is adequately explored. The

management section enables you to tram your players and develop certain skils. such as shooting, skating and weights.

You can arrange your players m the team, and choose very rudmaniary tactics. Irom Defensive. Midfield. Offensive and Dirty (which puts the emphasis on kicking the crap out of the opposition). You can even determine what kind ol entertainment they enjoy before the game, but none ot it feels very effective I suspect that the management section was put m to add a little something la the arcade section because on its own it's supremely dul

The arcade section, on the other hand, isn't bad In fad it's quite enjoyable, and m two-player mode it's a good crack What it lacks ts any depth, m that there are no opportunities to develop different types

Publisher: The Hit Squad Price: £9.99 Release: Out now

Originally reviewed at the end ot the Malt Bielby Golden Age ol AMIGA POWER (Issue 14). The Addams Family was one of Ocean's biggest-ever successes in the pages ol AP with a whopping scote ol S8 percent. It s a platform game that s Ihe closest the Amiga's so tar come to emulating the staggeringly successful Mario series (did you know that the seven Mario Brothers games on the three Nintendo

formats have now sold a combined total of over 10G million - that's 100 MILLION - copies S true At around £40 a throw. Think about It.), but it wasn't the huge chart smash that you might have expected, which is possibly why It's getting such a relatively swift budget re-release. Or possibly not.

Who knows What we do know lor sure, though, la that this Is a real beauty of a game - it's slick, professional, pretty and superbly designed. In that the rewards lor skilful play increase as the difficulty level rises, making for some

fiendish addictive qualities.

On lirst impressions, you might be a little disappointed when you see The Addams Family tor the first time -Ihe lovely parallax backdrops fhal made the SNES version such a visual Ireat have been left out (seemingly tor speed reasons, which Is a bit battling as well as a pity - after all, the SNES Is hardly the world's tastesl machine, and there Isn't any clever hardware trickery Involved In parallax scrolling), and there are other omissions loo. like the weapons that Gomez can collect In the SNES version lo make his life just a little easier. For tls the faithful butler that you play In the game as ha attempts lo rescue ihe Imprisoned members ol the Family from their prisons Inside Ihe vast Addams mansion.

of shot or styles of play It's simply skate around the. er. pilch and try to score And scoring is difficult at first - be prepared to play for quite a while before you actually manage to put one away Not a disaster by any means, but still a lam way oft the ideal Ice Hockey game • TIM TUCKER

THE BOTTOM LINE

A slightly above-average game, and certainly the best Ice Hockey game on the Amiga, but give It same thought before you pari with your tenner. The management section Is a complete waste of time.

R0 =

UL 1

But play the game for Just a few minutes and you'll lorget about little niggles like these Addams is incredibly easy to gel Into (fire to jump

- hurrah!) but horribly difficult to make all that much progress In without really devoting yourself to it - none ol that Sonic 2-slyle (Inish-lhe-game-without-ever-really-paying attention malarkey here. You do get some help. In the shape of liberally-dotted bonuses and extra lives, and a password system lhal comes along at usl Ihe right times

- not so often that things get tediously bitty and easy, but not so Infrequently lhal you feel you've got no chance ol making It to the next checkpoint Restart points are plentiful, there re hidden rooms and different routes all over Ihe place, and you can tackle the various sections of the mansion in any order you like, so there's never any need to be completely stuck either, all ol which helps immeasurably in drawing you Into the game until you rs completely absorbed

So many games have Iried to capture the leel ol Mario, but this, for me. Is the only one which has ever managed It to any degree (and that's a Good Thing. In case you were wondering). That's It, really.

• STUART CAMPBELL

THE BOTTOM LINE

Absolutely smashing platformer, done the way they all should be. There's still room lor Improvement (let's hope Ocean get round to doing Pugsiey's Scavenger Hunt. the SNES sequel, on the Amiga), but this II do just fine lor now

Ml TANK PLATOON ♦ MANCHESTER UNITED EUROPE

MANCHESTER

UNITED

EUROPE

e rn

tv

Publisher: Krisalis/Buzz Price: £9.99 Release: Out now

Weal's gone wrong7 Man Utd Europe has always been one ol my lavounte looty games, with onty SsnsAto Soccer holding a higher place In my affections On having Via come m lor review. I gleefully snapped a up for mysell. looking forward to an afternoon spent happily in front ol my morvfortor research’purposes I ciacked open a bag of cnsps, pul my feet up on the desk and the disk in the drive and sal back for some fun

And it's rubbish I don't understand how or why, but Man Utd Europe just isn't any fun any more. It hasn't lost anything in the tnp to budget-land (well, except tor some club crests which aren t featured any more for copyright reasons), but I didn't

Smart na Alilifcai rail - M's official

enjoy playing it agon in me slightest Maybe a's all the looty games I’ve seen srce a came out (although very lew ol Stem have really been up lo much), maybe it's the lacklustre (lo say the least) sound, maybe it's the way that il seems particularly susceptible lo that old leave die controls alone all day and your computer opponents siiH can't score' bugbear, maybe it’s the lack of action replays (I do hate that in a football game), maybe the un-mstincbve controls, or maybe it's the extremely erratic colision detection which saps your wkl to play, but wtialever the reason, I just couldn't be bothered with this any more II wasn't just me vi a bad mood, either - I left it over the weekend and came back lor another try. but it was just the same I even got a lew other people wtio'd never played it before to Iry it ouf, and they all came up with the same conclusion

Sorry if this isn't a very convincing review, but I don't realy know myself why I don't like Man Utd Europe any more I just know that I don't • STUART CAMPBELL

in a iMhl in a Uakl Na kaikaarV anifiri, aa Iriaajlasl nrtl Hlumf

OAMI REVIEWS

Ml TANK PLATOON

Publisher: Kixx Pries £9 99 Release: Out now

Simulation What a wonderful MOW tnrquir* trainee'types, then now* knitted (or Is It knotted’ no I'm sure S S knitted) and tawa> need rg no Heir uoper Mpe ae they struggle * ■ lean a jcrtinM plane or tefce not a-squadron of virtual enemy tanks it makes you mm,

What you gel for vour money in moat computer star* is whsl you d do S you wara a stxittlepUot/Wortd War i Ttytng sceftartk commands. not what you d err

The problem with most sans Is that they rome with a manual so fat-you ten p> up ipen the office door

What you see la a landscape of coloured polygons sod wtvsl you feel Is entirely up fo you Mf Tank Platoon It the definitive simulation ot armoured land

thin you could, or. use « lor something which required a very thin rhino Fvan when there is a game to be pleyeo i you get so lost In tha 1 controlling ol your 1 tsnk/tightar piane'oii 1 tanker that it gets H quickly forgotten U r ■ is no exception H Moving your

four tanks about the place is no

but i thought that was Teem Yankee. Or was it Pacific blende Ot Campaign Anyway. Mf was nrfglnedy released <n Mev so perhaps n

definitive whatnot then It s very obviously the inspiration for Team Yankee. You command a

Hi tin i iska long before I got hrved of trytog <u ■ ompiets the ukssaju v whffB i had hear seelgwl met started just driving aroond shooting at hutidtngs tor tun Than I started shooting the olhet tanks m the squadron (sorry, platoon - curse these Americans and their ddfetan* tarnunoktgy i ihan I watrhed Married wurmfcw ’hen ■ stairhmHIi v tor e rjO Then I thoughl Hay laegca* .ratty greet tank stm here, i think I a play lor a bit Then I started on my mission again Then ■ got bored sod The whole cycle started again And the nest day And the next

Looking al the packaging at World Cncket it s amusing to sea the phrase 'Animated Match Highlights', with a picture at a crowd with umbrellas up and an obviously raried oh match just below it I suppose m England that's not such an uncommon sight when looking at supposed match highlights on the TV

Cncket it definitely one of those games which doesn't translate loo well to the smelt screen (the one attached to your Amiga, that ts). Graham Gooch's Cncket ts about the only cncket game I've seen that’s any good, whuch, I suppose, is quite understandable - I mean, how do you put a batsman under joystick control, or a bowler or fielders World Cncket gets past this problem by oflenng you a management sanuiation rather than an arcade game

That would be fine if you ever lelt like you were having any control over the game, but unfortunately thus is noi the case You get ottered all the options, such as assigning the bowling duties, determining fielding positions and drawing up the batting order, but it doesn't seem to make much difference Throughout the match you re given an updated score board, which is hardty entertaining

viewing, bui admittedly there are some good, it limited, animations I dunne there just doesn't seem to be enough fun on offar here to make it worth even the modest budget asking phee You! soon be bored • TIM TUCKER

THE BOTTOM LINE

A competent game that never really gets going. Most of the options you’d require are In there, but it never fully Involves you In the action. For a proper game of cricket, look to the lull-price Graham Gooch Cricket Instead.

GUNBOAT

Publisher: Hit Squad Price: £12.99 Release: Out now

How to tell when you've bought a simulation instead ol a proper game:

1. You hava to read the manual before you can do anything at all.

2 The manual turns out to be mainly lor the PC, ottenng you loads ol bds about DOS and C> prompts to ignore.

3 You have lo skip fhiough loads ol screens with pictures at men in mwury uniforms looking al each other before you reach anything you can control

4 When you do finally gel lo the bit that you can play, rl seems lo consist ol ■ bg instrument panel, while above * great green and blue polygons lumber towards you unleasiNy slowly

5. You gel enough lime between bits oI action to not only go and make a cup ol lea. but also lo catch up on the news, read ■ short novel, and practice your juggling skits

I know. I'm beng unfair on the gem. and yes there are many great sims out there, but even enthusiasts wvi hod these points familiar Gunboat sutlers every ont ot them, but a lew things n its favour make a more than just another flight son For a start, it's not a (light sm Its a boat sim. in wtveh you lake control ot a P8R

second level, and more Importantly, failed to see any al ui harbouring any desire to It looked lovely. II sounded superb, snd V II wss utterly baleful Oh dear.

So new It's 1993.

Evsr mlndlul ol

cnlicum ihe Team 17

er dim have had

anothar go al il The

control's been

lightened up, the

power-up system's a tad more

generous, same ol the mora

appallingly I rig h taring attack wavas

have been taken out altogether, and

Rookia Mode now lets you get all tha

way to level lour (although you'll still

havi to be something a bH better than

When wa first saw thla

game (back In Issue 13. where II scored 78 percent), we wept tears at sorrow. It had looked Irom demos and previews is If It was going to be the beet Amlge ehoot-'em-up ever, but the tlnel version wee bugged, poorly designed, and so ridiculously, stupidly, unlilrly herd lhat playing ll was simply one at the matt annoying and frustrating experiences that I've had tinea - well, you don't went to know about Ihel. Never before had a game been eo unfriendly, to downright natty-minded, end eo unsatisfying. Several days ol play tailed lo tee any of u* make any progress beyond the

a rookie la get anything Ilka that far). Has it worked It the ell-new, ali-danclng. all-playable Project-X the best Amiga thoot-'em-up ol ell time

Wall, no. But It IS i darn sight closer. There ire still (and let's get the negative etufl out ot the way tlrsl) some Irritating llawa In this game. The biggest one tor me personally la Ihe system whereby collecting big end powerful power-ups causes your ship's handling to become sluggish and gt. , . Inerlle-rlddan. Now It’s all very well lo say that plasma cannons are heavy . and this la all very I Jp-1 realistic, but at

* wa ve said before, H

you want realism, buy a flight aim.

The power-upa themselves don't seem to be very well-balanced, either -there seems lo be very little benefit In collecting the really herd weapon*, even when Ihe power-up system dose

■Haw you lo bulk! them up. H i till! possible la accidentally ealect power-up*, too - the game eaten lor two-fire-butlon joysticks. to there lhauld have bean an option to dliabla the Mtect-bywiggling-the-ttlck feature. And finally, H always really bugged me that you don't gel to aee the groovy bonua game until after level two. Whal'a the point Only having It after the reel ol the levela looks silly, quite apart from anything else.

So, after that litany of hairsplitting. tat s be a bit more magnanimous and reward effort and good intentions. This version IS a lot baiter than the original, and I managed lo have a pretty groovy lime with it this time around (even Including galling beyond level two, in Arcade Hode at that).

It's right up there with Apldya and fi-Type 2 In the ranka of the lop

blasters, and It's one of the best tests of skill all you complacent tapsters out there could ask for. The sound s atmospheric and stirring, and generally it s fairly lovely. It's just that it's still nearly brilliant, and jusi a lew more tweaks could have made It unbeatable. Still. Profect-X 2should be a stunner...

• STUART CAMPBELL

THE BOTTOM LINE

A significant Improvement on the first version, snd It manages lo sacrifice its previous off-putting evllness without turning into a complete pushover, but Profect-X still Isn’t realising its full potential. At budget price, AA ; though. It's well worth Kh s buying for all that. UU =

mm

on 90 09

ia;::.ziaj csss

Publisher:

Ready Soft Prlca: £44 99 Release: Out now

II «M«U *>««. few *■!*>. niiySHr draj ee. AH.

although the graphics are marginally better. The scenes seem less continuous though, with large skips in the narrative requiring you lo fill In the gaps between. Just to taka the first axsmpie, s scene where Dirk (the hero) is sttacked In his own home by his Uolhar-ln-Law, quickly lumps to the next scene, a drawbridge over a moat outside a castle with said Uather-in-law giving chase. What happened in between How did they get there

Why is his Molhar-in-Law attacking him anyway

Wrath Ol The Demon Is the odd game out here really. Its animation and graphics are bog> standard and nothing lo do with a Don Bluth. although there are

■ T some fairly nice parallax scrolling >. sheets. In the gameplay

department It's more interesting than Its companions, requiring ~ you lo ride along, pick up things.

* hit things and get Into lights, but It's still hardly rivenIng. There ate

f two different types of gameplay, Ihe action scenes and the fighting scenes, which makes for some variety, but frankly the game Is dated and dull.

• TIM TUCKER

A compilation made • up of three games , ,

- Space Aee,

Dragon's Lair 2: Time Warp and Wrath Ol The Demon. What da they have In common They all feature 'Animation' Er. well so does almost every single game we've aver played, but only these games make a major selling point out of It. It's not just any old animation. It's proper animation, like In the films and that. Wall, two of them are.

Taking them left to right from the llluslraiiona on the cover (well, tt'a just as valid as any other order), let's start with Space Ace. What's undeniable In these Don Bluth arcade conversions Is

Bailal cartel ina aHici

the quality of the graphics, although I have la say that in this case they are slightly below Ihe usual standard. Still fairly luah lo look at though, but unfortunately the game’s also incredibly dull and frustrating to play. You watch an animated aequence and are required to move the joystick at some point in the proceedings. If you move It In the correct direction st the correct time you'll move on lo Ihe next animated section and you'll have to make another guesa aa to where and how to move the joystick. You should linlsh the entire game In a matter of hours, and after that you'll have no desire lo see It again.

Next up, Dragon * Lair 2. Exactly ihe same gameplay as Space Ace.

THE BOTTOM LINE

We've never liked these games, and they certainly haven't Improved with age. The only thing In this box's favour Is that, whereas originally you would have paid over a hundred quid for this lot, you're now only handing out forly-liva. So II you've been dying lo give them a shot, now's your chance But something tells me you AA ~

won't be going back for / U “ more, though. til H

(Patrol Boat. River - looks like Mark was right last month about Americans and their backwards language antics, eh ) These were originally developed lor use «i the Vietnam war (if you've seen Apocalypse Now you'll recognise them), but are still around now.

If anything, A sa bit like fit Tin a boat actually, because nol only do you pilot the boat, you also take control ol Ihe Stem. Midship and Bow Gunners' Stations

As an alternative lo yel another flight sm it does its 0b well I did find it frustrating trying lo work out what's goeig on at times, and there is a limned amount

A flight aim, but in a boat A boat aim, ihen, and a fairly good one al that. Usual almulatlon gripe* apply ('alownaa*' NA ;

mostly), bul a satisfying I *€ “ game nonelheleaa. I U ■

AMIGA POWER SEPTEMBER 1»93

ED

in concept, with 17th Century piratic skullduggery substituted for all that apace opera atutt. You tall, you trade, you raid, you tight, you dance.

Dance Why yet - at laaat that's what It lookt like At you tail around the beautiful latanda of the Caribbean you oft timet happen upon other thlps. If you (eel lucky, you might decide to dote for battle. Altar a bizarre 8-bli-ttqut naval combat

sequence where you blaat away at the other ahlp with your cannon, you might choota to board her. Once you do. you re . -t locked In a deadly ' rhumba with your

the way. Not turprltlngly. thus it a fathloned raiding and trading gama

game about plritat It only I'd ttarted with tome good old-fashioned

the review like that Inttaad of launching Into a dodgy Robert Newton Impreialon. None of the land-iubbart round hare even

graphlct thrown In. You tall from port to port, buying tugar hare, telling cannon there, and generally having a pretty nautical time ol It The controlt are aaty to gal to grlpt with and, being a UlcroProte

game that* ■ a fairly Jr decant attempt at ■ realiim In the tailing r sequence! at laatt. You

gat an idea of which way the

remember that vtrtlon ot Traaaura Island anyway - they all think Long John Silver

wat played by Chuck Hatton wlrtd't blowing

Bunch of Ignorant kldt Teh. I don l from the cloudt that

The bottom line, at we tend to tay round (hate parti, It that at a whole It hangt together pretty well. Thare't tome depth to the gamaplay and a tante of hlatorlcal atmoaphere (but don't atk me If it's accurate, the 17th Century It a myatary to me). The only fly In the otherwlte aplendld ointment It that the Individual tequancet (tailing, trading, fighting, etc) all look a bit dated The award-fight tequence It tuppoted to be an arcade action beat-'am-up bit, but It's jutt a keep-moving-to-the-left-and-prastlng-fire-oceatlonally bit.

Still, thare't plenty In there to keep a tlntagy/lradlng/advantura Ian going at long at they're not too deaperate for fatt-movlng action. I wat angrotted for many a long hour, and that't alwayt a good tlgn.

• TIM NORRIS

know what the world'a coming to... tcud Huffily by. and

l‘m torry, where wat I Ah yet. you'd jolly well Pirates. li t a jolly old gama (from better learn how to

1986, In tact, whan half thli lot ware lick or you than l

aim at tchool - Lite had only jutt gat anywhere

joined secondary tchool. for heaven a My tint thought

taka) and. unfortunately. It thowt. You at I played wai that play the part of a lutty young pirate il wat a bil like Elite

THE BOTTOM LINE

Tictkt. strategy, trading, atmosphere and a little bit of humour alwayt help to make a good gama and this one a got 'em all. Unfortunately, it wat written in 1986 and it thowt But despite that it's still worth a crack

HARD NOVA

Publisher: Hit Squad Price: £9 99 Release: Out now

If a game takes more than an acceptable amount of time to get to grips with, it always makes me suspicious Obviously, no matter how complex a game, given the time we can all gel into it eventualy - just as. given the time, we could al read Marcel Proust's Recherche Du Temps Perdu It's the inclination that's important, and it a game doesn't otter a reasonably easy-io-get-to-qnps-wifh control system

and thus takes ages to even see a kttle action then its just plan irritating

I’m alraid these are my feelmgs towards Hard Nova Nothing sever obvious, you have to constantly refer to the manual, which isn't very well wntten, and you're always cross referencing (kflerenl sections and so on It's a massed space strategy/track ngirote-playing game, which undoubtedly has a lot to offer anyone who's willing to go the distance You control a bunch of four mercenaries who survive by doing dirty work around various galaxies, as well as trading goods between ckflerent planets and so on.

The two mam aspects ol the gameplay are the parts where you're waking around and exploring on a planet, which is an overhead-view affair, and the space travel, which ts a sort ol somelnc-w space wewpomi Neither are particularly effective I'm afraid, although I did fmd the RPG elements fairly involving In space there are so many parameters to look it. weapons systems to take care of. fuel levels to watch, navigation procedures to negotiate, false signatures to offer (there's no point explaining I'm afraid) that it al gets too much Often it's good to have so many options, as long as they're entertainingly presented, and hopefully r some way instinctive to pick up. or it least easy to remember Hard Nova doesn'1 have any of these advantages • TIM TUCKER

THE BOTTOM LINE

There t certainly ■ lot in here lor anyone who t willing to give it ■ go. but you II have to light through a frustrating learning procedure I found the lack of atmotphere stilling and the overall unfriendliness ol the control tyatem immensely irritating Sorry

REVIEW DIGEST

POINTS OF VIEW

1111

TWO OUT OF FOUR! Last month, in this very box, I claimed that we'd get Blob, Sim Life, International Golf, and Hired Guns in for this ish. AND I WAS 50% CORRECT! Flushed with success, I'm now going to predict, ooh, Oscar, Overdrive, Micro Machines (maybe)

wr*H »om«* port of Qolf thimi for nrx• tlm®. Don't touch that dial!

owe

V Craig Howard continues the saga of the world’s first spit-based Amiga game. Drool on

'TK&ulG.tf 7

with Spoditnd i* ttial the original design ihaal (as supplied by the winner ol our Design-AGame compo back In January. - Ed) war a bll low an tacts, such as the range at moves available to the Spods What this basically translates Into Is more hard work for me. Humph!

Today I realised that there was still one ma or (actor missing from the Spodland design: the actual control method used to move the Spods around the screen! So. In the very little spare time that I had led I decided that I had better sort this out. One ol the problems we've had

1993 rims

I've made up my mind to allow the Spods la always have the option to ump or spit in any direction, and following this, the option to jump to their led or right If the appropriate pedestal is empty. 1 hope that this will allow a subtle strategy to develop, making each player want to kill

the opponents nest to them so as to give them more freedom of movement and a bigger advantage In the game. (Hmm. not really all that subtle'. It II - Ed) Wow. I bet you'd never have guessed haw complicated this game-designing lark really Is.

Alter a long, hard week a work there s nothing better than a good Old-fashioned parly. And. as luck would have It. there was a double 21st birthday bash lined up In Norwich for my chums Geod and

HucuUitf 15

Donk and more Donk. (That's The Hidden'a super mid-price platformer with a duck In It. hopefully out soon. - Ed) But today the ‘cold shower' routine worked, and I managed to persuade Will to code the routine for the tour-player mode. It's going to be great.

1993 rims

At last I managed to convince Will (our chief programmer) to actually do some coding for Spodland. The boy has got a one-track mind at the moment, and seems to think about nothing but Donk.

HAuxicUuf 17

shoct-'em-up, I say unfortunately because just a two-player version ol Monster Mash is addictive enough, but a tour-player one Is (In my humble opinion) just sea on silicon

1993 $ ms

Will presented me with a working tour-player routine. Unfortunately. In order to test It thoroughly, he had to Implement it In our current fave office game. Monster Mash - which Is basically a Smash-TV-style

<77td*uUuf 21

So. ust in case, I've asked Paul (our 3D man) to make some 3D models of the Spods and see how they turn out.

Also I've just seen a new version of Donk. which is now looking fantastic. Unfortunately, due to the recent collapse of DMI (who were going to distribute It), we don't know when It’ll be released. Boo.

After a rather sordid stint on Monsfer Mash. I decided to try and sort out some olher stuff for Spodland. The main problem I've still got to solve Is to da wllh ihe Spods themselves. I really want to use claymation-slyle techniques but I don't know when I'll be able to get some good model makers to sculpt the darn things out ol Plasticine

1993 puns TOuUcUcuf 23

I've asked Carl (our rather brillo music maestro) to come up with some music for Spodland that will capture Ihe feel of Ihe game There Is no doubt that he will be able lo do this, as anyone who has heard the music to Donk will tell you. Absolutely fantastic tunes Indeed.

1993 rimS ‘TttoruUtf 22

I had a go at sorting out a screen mock-up lor the bash-a-crocodile sub-game which we'd originally designed ages ago. So. until next month, this Is a slightly stressed but still very beautiful Craig saying Byeee! (Cheers Craig. - Ed)

or a

WNNON

rVIWBK by Sensible Soft

Most games wouldn’t be the same witho good selection of vehicles and weapons worry - Cannon Fodder has got plenty of

f I I And w«lcom«

' ' D back lo Ihe time-

deviating

HI ■ ■ swashbuckling

g A M and hard-rhyming pages 0)

Jools Cannon Fodder diary. Okay, last month I promiaed *"*'**•■ lo tall you about the vehicle* and io that'a what I'm about to do. but at well a* the vehicle* I'm gonna disclose the Inventory ol the whole armoury available In the game. *o It you auftar from a nervou* disposition, It you're a Mortliaey look-a-like or almply a Take That Ian - RUN FOR COVER!

I think what I'll do I* put both the vehicle* and the weapon* Into the tame category, call It lome pretentlou* name like The eaploiive force* at Cannon Fodder'and litt everything In order of deitrucflve power And, a* if by magic, here I* that vary list:

First of all we have Ihe plain and straightforward bullet-firing guns. The power of the gun depends on the rank of the man firing It: the higher this Is. the higher ihe rate of round*, bullet speed, distance covered and accuracy Your men get promoted to higher ranks after every mission successfully completed so if you can manage to keep them alive for long enough, you will be rewarded with some seriously devastating firepower.

Next on Ihe list are grenades, good for lobbing over background obstacles at enemies In well-dug-ln positions and. more Importantly, Ideal for blowing up buildings containing the evil opposition.

Bazookas are used to reach the parts that grenades can't. Their pin-point accuracy gives them an effectiveness cherished by sadists and trainee dictators.

There will be a couple of other ground-based weapons: mounted guns end rocket launchers. But as they are not fully Implemented yet I can t really tell you any more about them.

So then, straight onto the first vehicle - Ihe /eep. Imagine the first time you discover a jeep while playing the game - you're casually walking around, blowing the hell out ol everything In sight, and there It I*, just parked there, all gleaming and new and free for the taking. To jump in. just click on it with the left mouse button. Ihen watch your men walk up to It and climb aboard. Now you can do whal you want with It: if you tancy yoursell as a Nigel

"ansell you can go for '' '

some h gh speed seal-of- j 1

Ihe-psnt* racing around. I!

you consider yoursell 9BBH[ ( ' Gi \ r

more of nn Ev Kmcvei H '" 1 Ihen try out some slunli M. like Jumping a 20-foot

chasm. For the Sunday ' * ■

drivers among you,

posing down at the i&tZjk.

beach is even a ' ■

possibility! But what I - « ;

really like to do is IJ 4.-4 \

smash through tnncfi IHq '

and try lo Itatten as .

many of those little j jj. ' 6, ,

enemy blighters as /-—t "-‘''y -

' .

own. I suppose.

What s more fun than wreaking havoc with a speedy

jeep Well, how about causing fatal mayhem In a jeep with a rather large gun attached to It7

Of course neither of Ihe previous two mechanisms have Ihe sheer sexual prowess or tronlmanshlp qualities of a practically Indestructible tank, which usl happens to be the next little' item in Ihe Cannon Fodder mega-weapon list.

Bored of all this ground-floor action Wall Ihen. It's time to go up in Ihe world, because Fodder's also got helicopters Four different types of helicopters, to be precise. The first Is pretty simple, and Is ust lor transporting your men around and spotting the enemy with. The other three have weapons - bomba, rockets and homing missiles, respectively.

I've recently finished Ihe bits of code to make the homing missiles work and I'm very pleased with it to say the least. I'll try to explain. When the helicopter pilot (you, lor example) has clicked on a target the missile drops from the underside, and then slowly speeds up and lums towards Its victim. However, if there are any obstacles in its path (and this is Ihe clever bit) It automatically goes up In order to fly over them. Then, when there I* a clear path.

it decides to lose height again and ‘ScWSHb gats on with Ihe attack These , ,, weapons can be used against

mHi > 1 • Ir jf ■ I anything - from background terrain

‘ % < 'r'klM fences, buildings etc. to any of the

enemy s armoury, including just a single man.

That leads me to the one most _ fHl important thing left to tail you bout

' I In this section

THE ENEMY ALSO I HAVE ALL OF THESE WEAPONS and [ are more than likely to be belter than you at using them, but I'll have lo finish coding the game and you'll have to buy it to find out how. Anyway It'S that time again lo bury my head back Into the sands of Cannon Fodder and get on with what I gat paid for. so bye bye for now •

Variety is either the spice off life or the rubbish that both BBC and ITV fill up their prime-time Saturday night schedules with. So do the varied specimens in this month’s PD round-up enrich your life or turn your brain to mush Heeeeeeeeeeere’s Dave Golder...

and lha control* ara muddy. Apart Iran that I quite enjoyed H

He Riytir M lie Ban Im Bor bur don’t let that pul ran aft lk< jane.

VERDICT: Hmrrm. whan lha baalc concept la aa corny aa IM*. you need to back It up with aome glitz. Fruit Panic doesn't and end* up an okay, but ultimately dull game. (But the rest ot us like It anyway. - Ed)

HATING: **♦

mlfm

NBS

Licencewaro

It * strange how spacasnips and lima capsules art always powered by crystals.

Whet s wrong with patrol Or nuclear fission

Or manure Than again. I don't think I'd want to play a game where you go around collecting cow-pats.

Ome-Wft Is an arcade advanluray-lype thing set in tour different time zones. In each zone you have to colleci. you've guaased It four crystals so that you can power up your time machine and get on to lha next zone.

It s a vary Impresswa game. Each zona la massive with loads of geographlcaily-daliant platforms, buildings and tunnels. You have a choice of weapons and a handy mapping facility. Thera ara a whole range of power-ups littered about tha place which you'll need because there ara plenty ot nasties about loo.

With a sprite who's a first-year student In the Prince Ot

SMURF HUNT

t TZiihmm

*»ic rc

Persia school ot animation and some lush backdrops, this Is an excellent game that deserves checking out.

VERDICT: 1 liked it, a lot. So will you. probably RATING: *****

TIm diua al a iiiiuilai caaci km

Okay, It's a Shoot- Em-Up Construction Kit game, and gameplay-wise pretty much what you'd expect. Bui It gets * mention purely because ot Its lhame -blasting Smurfs. Yup. It's no les* than I hay deserve. They Indicted mental agony and left deep psychological scars on a whole generation. A lew goes on Smurf Hunt, though (with It* gratuitously bloody scenes ot Smurf* getting H) and you'll be cured, a sane, balanced human being again

PARADOX FRUIT PANIC

PD Soft

PD Soft

This month * puzzler, tor people who are that way Inclined, is. like all tha best puzzlers, based on a vetv simple

Mora cute platform stuff, but unfortunately pot a* good as Captain A. in any oapertmeni. Tha idas this time i* to collect all Die fruit and ovoid lha naatiaa. The gimmick' la thal at tha bottom of each level are two trampoline*, and these ire the only way you can maka your, ar, thing go up the acreen. Oh. and he can aleo place

armed with a bouncing mlasile which you have to mailer the art of lobbing.

There are tone ol level* which keep throwing up new challenges to stop the game getting tedioua, and they almost work. “ If you’re Into this sort ol thing, Captain K dellvsrs tha goods, If nol any surprises.

premise. You are presented with ■ •creen full ol multi-coloured belie -there will be two at each colour. Your mlealon ie to pueh like-coloured ball* next to each other *o that they vanleh In i putt of emoke: exterminate ill the bills within the time limit and you're whisked oft to the next level.

I found It Infuriatingly addictive. It's one of those games where you romp through four or five levels than com* to a complete halt on a screen you usl can't work out.

Cute platform games, don't you just love 'am Once upon a time all you could (Ind In the public domain were Tetris clones and products from the Shoot-'Em-Up Construction KH production line. These days you can't move tor fruit ’n' flowers all over the place.

Gat the picture Cule-a-rama Captsln K I* lull ol flower* and so-called nasllea who look about e* dangerous as Michael Jackson. On (he cartoon cuteness seel* lha graphic* rale somewhere between My Little Pony and Gumml Bears, which Is another way of saying If you can stand this culesy stuff then they're actually pretty good.

The game Ie a simple case ol guiding your jet-packed apace cadet around some not-at-alMnipired-byParatoJ-Sfars-typ* level* collecting or deetroylng everything on them. A nice touch It thal you're